EPAS (2011) 9
Strasbourg, 15 February 2011
Enlarged Partial Agreement on (EPAS)
Hearing on the Draft Recommendation
on Migrations in sport and protection of youngsters
Council of Europe Office in Paris
55, avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris (Underground station “Boissière”)
Room 1
2 March 2011, 10 am -5 pm
BACKGROUND DOCUMENT
Introduction to the issue of migration in sport in Europe
In European professional football, over seven in every one hundred players migrating to
Europe for the first time are less than 18 years, while over 33 are less than 21. There are currently
over 400 professional players who migrated to a European country as minors. Transfers of young
and very young (under 15) players are therefore a reality in the sport, as reflected in the example of
one of the best players at present, Lionel Messi, who was only 10 when he arrived at FC Barcelona.
Alongside that extraordinary success story, there are no statistics to show the failure rate among
under-16s or, still less, the percentage of unhappy experiences, including violations of children’s
rights, human rights and sports ethics.
The issue of migration in European sport is set against the background of a process of
globalisation from which the sport sector is not exempt. Globalisation and the convergence of
sporting nations in terms both of travel times (sea, rail and air) and of our perceptions have thrown
up a whole range of new issues concerning migration flows in sport.
Sportspeople have played in other countries since the beginnings of modern sport in the
19th century, for instance, at Newton Heath LYR football club, the forerunner of Manchester
United, which included Irish and Scottish players; at that time, however, migration by sportspeople
was fairly marginal and regional and was not really globalised.
Migration in sport is often linked with football alone; even though other sports feel very
concerned by the issue and do see examples of players moving from one continent to another on
account of their sporting activity, there is a much higher level of migration in football and it is much
more organised and institutionalised. However, it is important also to consider migration in sport in
Europe in sports like basketball, where we see Americans playing here, handball, where some
players are beginning to move abroad to reach the top level, which they could not do in their
countries of origin, or still other sports like athletics and cycling, where migration flows need to be
studied to see how significant they are.
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In football today, foreign players account for over a third of the total in the 36 European
championships, where it can be said that the more successful a championship is the more likely it is
to attract players who are not nationals of the country they currently play in. According to the 2010
Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe, players who left the country they grew up in because
of their football careers were aged 22.2 years on average when they did so; thereby demonstrating
that international recruitment by clubs in the most successful leagues is geared more towards young
players.
Moreover, it should be noted that, of the ten countries which export the youngest players to
Europe, six are in Africa, two are in Europe themselves and two are in other continents. Africa is
therefore very important in football, alongside Brazil and Argentina. By way of example, it is not
always possible to predict where these young African footballers will end up, as the three leading
countries of origin of foreign players in the Finnish first division in 2010 were Zambia, Brazil and
Nigeria in that order.
In the case of failures (which are more frequent than successful careers), responsibility is
shared between the young players themselves, sports agents, the clubs and the players’ families.
Players’ agents do not therefore bear the sole blame for the abuses related to migration in sport in
Europe, as the young players’ families very often want their prodigy sons or daughters to move
abroad, which is seen as an opportunity for them to succeed. While some sports have already taken
up the issue through their international, continental or government federations and are seeking to
protect young sportspeople, others have not yet recognised the problem or are ignoring the abuses
that exist in their sports.
Europe’s sports and institutional sector is therefore faced with a set of issues where it is
necessary, first of all, to determine both the responsibilities of all concerned and the scale of the
problem so that a range of measures can be implemented to protect clubs, young sportspeople and
their families. The sports movement and governments can agree on taking the most effective
measures possible against the abuses which come with migration flows in different sports.
Lastly, it is important to underline the interdisciplinary nature of the issue, as migration in
sport concerns not only the sporting authorities but also those responsible for migration and child
protection. Some young people deliberately stay on illegally after a trial period in an attempt to find
work in Europe, as living conditions there seem better than in Africa. The measures to be
considered therefore involve the sports movement and sports policies, as well as development aid
policies, migration policies and childhood protection.
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Annotated thematic bibliography: migration in sport in Europe
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Publications:
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Lars Backe Madsen & Jens M. Johansson, Den forsvunne diamanten, Tiden Norsk Forlag
(2008) [Norwegian, English].
The authors describe the dark side of the transfer of John Obi Mikel, a young Nigerian
footballer, to Chelsea, highlighting the role sometimes played in this “talent drain” by
unscrupulous agents.
[Synopsis in English]
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Joachim Barbier & Antoine Derouet, Football made in Africa, APELS, Actes Sud (2010).
Among other things, the authors look at the issue of migration and advance the idea of a
modern form of slavery, stressing the need to raise awareness among young African
footballers. [French]
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Pierre Lanfranchi & Matthew Taylor, Moving with the ball: the migration of professional
footballers, Palgrave Macmillan (2001) [English].
The authors use the concept of the “football market” to describe the history of migration in
the sport from the past to present-day migration of African players.
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Maryse Ewanjé-Epée, Négriers du foot, Rocher, 2010 [French]
The author provides an overview of problems linked to the migration of football players
(agents, money, treats, false papers) and outlines the associations and organisations that seek
to develop a response to the problem.
Tshimanga Bakadiababu, E. Le commerce et la traite des footballeurs africains et sud-
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américains en Europe, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2001 [French]
The author shows how the transfer of young footballers can resemble “human trafficking”
and uses numberous qualifiers of this practice.
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Dubey, J-P. La libre-circulation des sportifs en Europe, Stämpfli Verlag, collection CIES,
2000 [French]
The author takes the Bosman ruling as starting point to demonstrate the main challenges in
the free circulation of athlets under community law.
Kamara, M. Les opérations de transfert des footballeurs professionnels, Paris, L’Harmattan,
2007 [French]
A legal approach to transfers in the football world. Certain parts specify how this is dealt
with in the case of transfers of minors.
•
Scientific articles and studies:
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Raffaele Poli, Le transfert des footballeurs. Une dérive de la marchandisation d’être
humains, Finance & Bien commun, no. 26 (2007) p. 40-47.
The author uses statistics from his previous studies to explain how transfers of footballers
may be likened to commoditisation of human beings. [French].
EPAS (2011) 9
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Raffaele Poli, L’Europe à travers le prisme du football. Nouvelles frontières circulatoires et
redéfinition de la nation, Cybergeo: European Journal of Geography, Political, Cultural and
Cognitive Geography, document 294, posted online on 3 December 2004. [French]
The author analyses international relations through the prism of football, addressing the
issues of the naturalisation of players, quotas for foreign players and integration policies
for migrant footballers.
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Raffaele Poli, Migrations de footballeurs et mondialisation: du système monde aux réseaux
sociaux, Mappemonde no. 88 (2007) [French]
The author analyses international flows of footballers from a geographical angle.
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Roger Besson, Raffaele Poli and Loïc Ravenel, Etude démographique des footballeurs en
Europe/Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe, PFPO (Professional Football Players
Observatory) (2010) [French & English]
This study presents the demographic data relating to international transfers of footballers,
taking account of transfers of minors and the training of young players.
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Roger Besson, Raffaele Poli and Loïc Ravenel, Etude annuelle du marché du travail
européen des footballeurs/Annual Review of the European Football Players’ Labour Market
(2009) [French & English].
Statistical data on the migration of footballers in Europe.
Roger Besson, Raffaele Poli et Loïc Ravenel, Comprendre les mécanismes des migrations
« glo-balles » africaines. Les trajectoires transnationales et la diversification des filières, in
« L’Afrique, la mondialisation et le ballon rond », Afrique Contemporaine, 1, no. 233, 2010
[French]
The article gives a geographical and socio-economic view of the international transfer of
African footballers, with a special focus on young Africans, minors or recently grown-ups.
Roger Besson et Loïc Ravenel, Migração dos jogadores sul-americanos de futebol
profissonal para a Europa : uma abordagem geografica, Université de Franche-Comté,
available at the following address :
egal2009.easyplanners.info/area08/8104_Loic_RAVENEL.pdf [French and table in
Portugese]
A special focus on the transfer of South African players from a geographic point of view.
Mickaël Heidmann, Les migrations des jeunes sportifs en Europe, website of the
international association, Generation 112 (2010). [French]
This article describes the abuses linked to certain sports agents referred to as “slave
traders” and the latter’s possible impact on young African footballers.
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J. Magee & J. Sugden, The world at their feet. Professional football and international labor
migration, Journal of Sport & Social issues, no. 26 (2002) p. 421-437 [English].
The authors place the issue of migration in the context of globalisation, focusing mainly
on the growth of the commercial interests related to migration in the English leagues.
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Manuel Schotté, Les migrations athlétiques comme révélateur de l’ancrage national du
sport. Les coureurs africains dans l’athlétisme européen, Sociétés contemporaines, no. 69
(2008).
On the basis of an ethnographic study, the author demonstrates the importance of national
bases in international athletics.
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Colloquy on Les migrations sportives : du temps colonial à l’ère postcoloniale (2009)
[French].
Discussion focused on sport migration in various countries in different eras, from past to
present.
Andreff, W. Une taxe contre la misère du football africain ?, in « L’Afrique, la
mondialisation et le ballon rond », Afrique Contemporaine, 1, no. 233, 2010 [French]
The author presents his solution to the excesses of international transfers of minor players,
i.e. what he entitles « Taxe Coubertobin » which incorporates the idea promoted by the
economist James Tobin in 1978 to introduce a tax of 1% on financial transactions. He
applies the idea to the transfer of athlets in general and football in particular even though the
author’s idea is to apply it to sports in general.
Darby, P. Ethnographie des académies de football au Ghana, in « L’Afrique, la
mondialisation et le ballon rond », Afrique Contemporaine, 1, no. 233, 2010 [French]
A specific focus on the case of training centres, which are precede the problem of the
transfer of young footballers.
Froidure, C., Ravenel, L. Les migrations des basketteurs professionnels en Europe, in
Mappemonde no. 98, 2010 [French]
Migrations in basketball looked at from a geographical and quantitative point of view. The
authors display the important role the United States and Europe are playing in the system of
migrations in basketball.
Taylor, M. Global players ?Football, migration and globalization, c. 1930-2000, in
Historical Social Research 31, nb. 1, 2006 [English]
The author presents a history of the question of migrations in football by highlighting the
determinants of migrations, the globalised system of migrations and a case study on
migration in English football.
Dietschy, P. Les migrations de footballeurs : un enjeu politique, Migrance, no. 22, 2e
trimestre, 2003
The author shows how migrations have been a political challenge in history, based on the
examples of Italy at the time of Mussolini, Spain at the time of Franco, the case of the
Hungarian player Lazslo Kubala and the challenges for African footballers.
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Studies, declarations and recommendations by public authorities:
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Study conducted for the European Commission, Study on Sports Agents in the European
Union (2009) [French, English and German].
Study which sets out recommendations on the issue of sports agents in the European
Union and allows comparisons between the agents in different sports.
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Report by Senator Pierre Martin (France) with a view to regulating the profession of sports
agent and amending the Sports Code, no. 363 (2008). [French URL1, URL2]
On the basis of consultations with many different protagonists, the report alerted the
French authorities to the abuses linked to the profession of sports agent and made
proposals on regulating it.
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Bamako Declaration, Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sport of Countries sharing the
French Language, December 2000.
Cotonou Agreement, signed by the EU and the 77 ACP countries. See particularly article
13.3 entitled “Migrations” and article 28.c.
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EPAS (2011) 9
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Judgements of the ECJ: Bosman (1995), Malaja (2002), Kolpak (2003), Simutenkov (2005),
Bernard (2010)
Council Directive 94/33/EC of 22 June 1994 on the protection of young people at work. See
particularly articles 5 (points 1 and 3) and 9.
It is interesting to note that the synthesis expresses the following idea: “However, the
Directive allows the Member States to stipulate, subject to certain conditions, that the ban on
the employment of children is not applicable to: children employed for the purposes of
cultural, artistic, sporting or advertising activities, subject to prior authorisation by the
competent authority in each specific case”
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Audio and video documents:
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Euronews report on fraud in footballer recruitment and the dashed hopes of young Africans
(Arnaque au recrutement de footballeurs : le rêve brisé de jeunes africains) (2010).[French]
The report focuses on what becomes of footballers who are not awarded contracts in
Europe.
Documentary by Yves Maillard entitled Destin au bout du pied (2010), Kien productions,
disseminated by the French channel Public-Sénat (52 minutes) [French]
Released as a documentary followed by a discussion with experts, this documentary
provides testimonys of young Africans who dream of becoming professional footballers. He
lets a recruiter speak who wants to give the impression that this is done for the young
Africans’ benefit whilst the documentary shows that this is rarely the case.
Available at the following address: http://www.publicsenat.fr/lcp/politique/docu-debatdestin-bout-pied-27723
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Documentary by Raffaele Poli and Jean-Denis Borel, Une balle pour rêver (2008).
The documentary explains the issues of the migration of footballers to Europe, from the
point of view of Africa, looking at how migration by sportspeople from the continent takes
shape.
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Interviews:
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Interview with Jacky Canosi, talent scout and youth trainer at RC Strasbourg.
In particular, explains how to recognise a “good agent” and pinpoints key issues which
demand a European response.
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Interview with Jean-Marc Kuentz, director of RC Strasbourg training centre [French]
Gives the point of view of an expert who makes the link between training and the agents
who put forward players.
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Interview with Philippe Flavier, representative of a French football agents’ union and FIFA
agent. [French]
Takes a view of the role of agents opposed to that of Bertrand Cauly (below) and therefore
supports “club agents”.
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Interview with Bruno Satin, head of the football division at IMG. [French URL1 URL2]
An agent who has arranged many transfers during his career and is therefore familiar with
transfers of minors as seen in practice.
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EPAS (2011) 9
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Interview with Bertrand Cauly, chair of the Collectif Agents 2006 agents’ union and FIFA
agent. [French URL1 URL2 ]
Takes a view of the role of agents opposed to that of Philippe Flavier (above) and
therefore supports “players’ agents”.
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Interview with Jean-Pierre Bernès [French]
One of the best-know French agents, who has arranged transfers of leading players.
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Working documents prepared by EPAS:
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General thematic document (EPAS(2009)18rev1)
Report of the Lisbon meeting (EPAS(2009)43 rev)
First draft recommendation put out to consultation (EPAS(2009)38rev)
Agenda and list of participants of the meeting on 22 March (EPAS(2010)20)
Draft recommendation discussed by the Governing Board on 4 and 5 May 2010
(EPAS(2010)38)