Human trafficking: NGOs call for 'urgent' action as football fails in its duty of care

By Paul Nicholson in Geneva

September 9 - There is not enough effort to tackle human trafficking in football and it "needs to be resolved urgently", said Michel Veuthey, Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta tasked with monitoring and combating human trafficking.

Giving a keynote address at meetings organized by SiNAFE and Mission 89 on human trafficking in sport and the social inclusion of migrant African athletes in Europe, Veuthey described the scale of the problem, citing data from the US State Department which estimates that "in the football industry alone in Europe, there are an estimated 15,000 victims of human trafficking each year", mostly from West Africa.< /p>

He also cited data from the French NGO Foot Solidaire, suggesting that in 2007 there were more than 7,000 Africans in France looking for a club, while a secret media investigation suggested that there were more than 20,000 aspiring footballers trafficked to Europe.

This is a problem that is not diminishing and fears are that it will only increase unless football acts within its own structures and enforces its own protocols.

“In the world of sport, modern forms of slavery can manifest themselves in different ways. athletic talent, it quickly becomes apparent that there are myriad opportunities for labor exploitation,” Veuthey said.

"Trafficking of migrant athletes, often children, into sport is a widespread problem in the global sports industry."

Veuthey pointed out that football trafficking was a sinister version of what is actually happening legitimately in developed football countries around the world, saying that "agents take advantage of the aspirations of athletes and their families to succeed and improve their livelihoods".

The difference is that these agents are unlicensed and usually don't have clubs or contacts who will deal with players once they arrive in new countries. This leaves players alone, in foreign and open countries, and more often than not victims of multiple human rights violations and engaging in criminal activities.

Veuthey pointed to a worrying trend: "While it is mainly boys who are drawn into sports trafficking, the development of women's sports, especially football, is also attracting young girls.

“The issue of sports trafficking is an area that has received limited attention from national governments and sports organizations,” Veuthey said.

FIFA has guidelines that prohibit international football transfers of children under the age of 18. However, Veuthey pointed out that they had five exceptions and that they had five exceptions, and that the rules had not been correctly applied. He cited a 2019 Firth Report that, in the case of the Premier League, "there is no evidence of any clubs showing leadership in the fight against modern slavery".

“However, sports organizations and associations do not have the power to tackle the problem of trafficking in sport alone, because the main driver to combat it must come from governments, because they are the only ones competent to prosecute the criminals,” Veuthey said.

The meetings organized by SiNAFE and Mission 89 in Geneva continue today with various potential initiatives being discussed between the various NGOs present, including a set of protocols to draw attention to an issue that shames the world football, but which football authorities find too easy to pass on to other agencies.

If you want to own football, you have to take some responsibility for all its problems and the human rights issues it fuels, was the general feeling at the meetings.

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