Social Dialogue in professional sport- football as a model for other collective professional sports

Abstract

In this paper, the author analyses the sources of European Law in the area of social dialogue in sport with particular attention to the sources of the so called „soft law“. Respecting the principle of sporting association autonomy and fundamental economic freedoms within the European Union (further referred to as EU) market, European social dialogue is strongly supported on the part of EU institutions and becomes an increasingly important factor in the regulation of relations including legal labour relations in professional sport. Emphasis will also be placed the autonomous acts of sporting associations (FIFA, UEFA and so on), sporting leagues, that is association of clubs (as employers’ representatives and athletes’ unions ) national unions and the association of FIFPro as employees’ representatives( firstly appropriate agreements, that is, collective contracts in professional sport, in order to show the application of the stated institute at a regional and national level. The author makes a comparative legal analysis of collective employees’ rights in professional football, particularly in the Republic of Croatian and the suggestions de lege ferenda Football has been used as a model, not because of its popularity, but because in this sport social dialogue has achieved the highest levels. Through it we can freely say that we are gradually heading towards creating a legal framework for social dialogue at the level of all sport in the area of the European Union.

Keywords

• social dialogue
• professional sport
• agreement on minimum conditions
• EU
• labour relations
• Croatia