Thursday 10 April – Following their written contributions to the European Parliament’s own-initiative report on the “Role of EU Policies in Shaping the European Sport Model” and the contributions at the European Commission’s EU Sport Forum in Krakow, European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe, underline their commitment for a transformative industrial agenda that prioritizes the European Sectoral Social Dialogue between the social partners, collective bargaining, and inclusive governance.

Recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rulings and ongoing legal proceedings highlight the urgent need for international sports organizations to operate with transparency, objectivity, and compliance with fundamental rights enshrined in EU law. Our joint complaint against FIFA concerning the International Match Calendar underscores the critical importance of addressing conflicts of interest between regulatory and commercial roles, while protecting player welfare.

At a recent meeting of the Employer and Employee Roundtable* the organisations emphasized the need to preserve the interconnected ecosystem of professional, semi-professional, and grassroots football, where player development and local competitions form the foundation of our sporting model in Europe. Through national collective agreements, employers and employees are prepared to take shared responsibility at the international level, including the European Sectoral Social Dialogue for the Professional Football Sector, maintaining the sector’s competitiveness, integrity and compliance with EU law and policies.

*Note: The Employer and Employee Roundtable is a platform created in 2024 by the European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe to foster cooperation between professional leagues and players’ unions as the entities which negotiate and agree on collective bargaining agreements at domestic level and to foster cooperation between all social partners.

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