Some of the world’s leading player association executives—collectively representing more than 85,000 players and athletes—announced a Universal Declaration of Player Rights (UDPR) earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
The Declaration addressed what they claim is “the persistent, systemic and long-standing violations of players’ fundamental rights in sport throughout the world.” Further, it is the first framework ever to “explicitly articulate” the internationally recognized human rights of athletes globally.
“The Declaration fills a glaring gap. In the rule books of world sport there are thousands of pages detailing onerous obligations, but not one that coherently spells out the fundamental rights of the athletes,” said Brendan Schwab, who heads the World Players Association. “The result has been the widespread and sometimes tragic violation of the world’s players. The Declaration makes clear that the rights of players can no longer be ignored and athletes must be able to quickly access justice to ensure their rights are protected, respected and upheld.”
The Declaration was developed over the last two years by the more than 100 player associations affiliated to World Players and has “undergone a thorough review process by human and labour rights experts. It reflects generations of organized players’ experiences and incorporates recent feedback from thousands of players provided through wide-ranging surveys conducted by player associations. The Declaration is also firmly anchored in international human rights law and core International Labour Organization standards.”
For the full Universal Declaration of Player Rights, see http://www.uniglobalunion.org/news/world-players-association-launches-universal-declaration-player-rights.
