Study into the identification of themes and issues which can be dealt with in a Social Dialogue in the European professional football sector

Nov 1, 2007 - May 31, 2008

Project description

This study will help social partner organisations and other stakeholders at international and national level to become aware of the possible options regarding themes and issues which can be dealt with between management and labour in a Social Dialogue at the European level. The study is expected to facilitate the start of negotiations once the official Social Dialogue Committee will be established in the European professional football sector. It will offer social partner organisations a helpful instrument for determining their thematic framework. A similar effect is mutatis mutandis to be expected with regard to Social Dialogue in professional football at the national level of EU member states and candidate countries.

Topic

The purpose of this study is to identify possible themes and issues which are suitable to be discussed in a Social Dialogue. The formal framework for setting an agenda of topics is Article 136 et seq. of the EC Treaty.
An essential aspect to be researched in this context is to what extent the agenda and the way of dealing with themes and issues is determined by the fact that the broader framework of a Social Dialogue in European professional football in fact includes pertinent rules and regulations of the international football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA

Objective

In the first phase of the research a questionnaire will be drafted an distributed amongst social partner organizations and stakeholders nationally and internationally. That means the distribution of questionnaires to organizations in the 27 EU member states plus Croatia and Turkey (candidate countries). In each country the national football association, premier league organization (if existent) and players’ union (if existent) will be addressed. The questionnaire will consist of questions concerning a possible themes and issues (and as far as national organizations are concerned: what (legal) positions of themes and issues in the context of the pyramid model in national and international professional football in which the football governing bodies (FIFA, UEFA and national FA’s) have a dominant position in relation to clubs and players and their pertinent rules and regulations are prevalent.