FIFPro publishes Black Book on Eastern Europe

Footballers are often seen as wealthy and having a lifestyle few could aspire to. A new report from FIFPro, the international representative organisation for football players, paints a picture of working conditions for Eastern European players which are neither glamorous nor enviable.

For the new report ‘Black Book Eastern Europe’, FIFPro has questioned 3357 professional football players from 14 Eastern European countries, and the results show lack of respect for contracts, non-payment of salaries, violence, bullying and racism as part of everyday life. According to the report, 41,4 percent of players state that their clubs do not pay salaries on time and around 5 percent have waited for their salaries for more than six months.

According to FIFPro, the players who do not receive their salaries are more likely to consider participating in match-fixing, and according to the report 11,9 percent of players state that they have been approached to consider fixing the result of a match, while 23,6 percent are aware of match-fixing taking place in their league. 

Moreover, the report shows that one in ten has experienced different kinds of abuse, such as racism, violence or bullying. 

"It has been a very important day for FIFPro," said Theo van Seggelen, secretary general of FIFPro. "Up until now, everybody just thought that the players in Eastern Europe were treated badly, now we have proof that they are treated badly. We now know the facts."

The conclusions of the report present a lot of areas that need improvement in order to rectify the situation. For one, players need a contract which clearly indicates salary and bonuses and the clubs need a better licensing system for their economies to become transparent. FIFPro therefore appeals to the international community for help.

"I hope that the other stakeholders in football, and also the national governments and the European Commission understand that the time to take action is now," said van Seggelen. 

Download the report ‘FIFPro Black Book Eastern Europe’ here

Read FIFPro’s comments to the report