2015 FIFPro sports law conference legal legends in sport and the future of sports law. The role of athletes in delivering the good governance of sport

Transcription

1 2015 FIFPro sports law conference legal legends in sport and the future of sports law. The role of athletes in delivering the good governance of sport Brendan Schwab Head of UNI World Athletes Tuesday 15 December December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 1

2 Football (and legal) legends George Eastham and Jean Marc Bosman 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 2

3 What history has taught us What history has taught us is that there s no inconsistency between having a fair system for players and having a healthy sport. Quite the contrary. What we ve seen is that when sports have given players more freedom and have compensated them better the entire sport has grown on the revenue side. The players and the clubs can work together to build the sport much more easily in a fair system than in an unfair system. (Leading US attorney Jeffrey Kessler, 2014) 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 3

4 Sport s governance crisis François Carrard, Chair of the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 4

5 Sport s governance crisis Dick Pound, President of the 2015 WADA Independent Commission 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 5

6 Two 20 year perspectives Australian sport sees good governance as essential to growth 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 6

7 The athletes interest in good governance The athletes are sport s most objective stakeholder Professional and emotional engagement Involved in all aspects of the professional game Started at the grass roots Care for the next generation Impact of poor governance Players own sense of integrity Athletes are essential to the generation of sport s wealth 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 7

8 Players share of FIFA revenues, (US$ billions) FIFA Revenue ( ) Payments to Participating Players Share (30%) Countries Total (1.8%) 2014 FIFA World Cup (2.2%) NB: Total prize pool 2015 FIFA Women s World Cup US$15,000,000 (0.3% of FIFA revenues) 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 8

9 The starting point for reform Even though they have allowed politics to influence their policies and decisions, autonomy from formal regulatory public interference is an obsession for ISFs It is an essential part of ISFs belief system; a doctrine that they aim to spread among political institutions and stakeholders in order to keep the governance of international sport strictly private. 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 9

10 The athlete s choice Claudia Pechstein part of the privilege of being an Olympian, part of the privilege of participating in the sport CAS President John Coates 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 10

11 Advocate General Lenz presupposes precisely that a player can be regarded as a sort of merchandise for which a price is to be paid. Such an attitude may correspond to today s reality, as characterized by the transfer rules, in which the buying and selling of players is indeed spoken of. That reality must not blind us to the fact that this is an attitude which has no legal basis and is not compatible with the right to freedom of movement... I also have considerable doubt as to whether a system which ultimately amounts to treating players as merchandise is liable to promote the sporting ethos 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 11

12 The right to organise & collectively bargain 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 12

13 The best governance model in the world Transparency Democratic processes Checks and balances Solidarity Source: Sports Governance Observer 2015 FIFA ranked 2 nd of 35 international Olympic sporting federations 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 13

14 The best governance model in the world Three requirements: 1. Independence 2. Skill and judgement 3. Accountability, inc the right of the owners / shareholders to appoint and remove the Board, and agree to game changing decisions Sources: David Crawford and Colin Carter (2011); Council of Europe (2012) 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 14

15 The central case of FIFA Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter, July 2015, announcing the establishment of the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 15

16 2016 FIFA Reform Committee Weaknesses: Flawed design of proposed FIFA Council: Strategic Representative Ineffective decision-making size (36)/ not skills based Emphasis on participation, not accountability The fundamental question of ownership is not addressed power kept with member associations and confederations Existing S/H rewarded with increased Ex Co positions (36), World Cup positions (40) and football development funds 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 16

17 Good governance and the athletes Two principles: 1. Accountability, which requires ownership and / or agreement 2. Partnership, which requires trust, mutual understanding and vision Mere participation is not enough. 23 December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 17

18 Partnership with the players Bud Selig, MLB (L) and the late Mike Weiner, MLBPA on the announcement of the MLB/MLBPA Basic Agreement Just how far did this partnership propel baseball? New York Times Revenue sharing and a luxury tax; JV MLB s global strategy The players are determined to do all they can to continually improve the sport s Joint Drug Agreement MLBPA 23 December 2015 The Rights of Athletes Slide 18

19 Respect Any partnership must be based on respect; the reform of FIFA s governance is therefore a prerequisite Bobby Moore (ENG) & Pele (BRA) December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 19

20 Thank you Brendan Schwab Head of UNI World Athletes Mobile: Skype: bhschwab UNI global union 8-10 Av. Reverdil 1260 NYON Switzerland Tel: December 2015 FIFPro Legal Conference Slide 20