Moreover, it is an industry that attracts many young individuals and, in some cases, these young athletes can be drawn by “esport academies”, which are either independent entities or affiliated with private companies/schools that claim to provide the equipment, training and competitions required to succeed. This, combined with the relatively unregulated and open-natured rapid growth of the esports industry leaves children exposed to cyberbullying, online predators, sextortion, inappropriate content, and more.

Our research is extremely important as the relative newness of the industry means that oversight is disjointed or non-existent in some instances, leaving gaps for exploitation to occur. Through this collaborative initiative between Mission89 and a team of student reearchers from the Graduate Institute Geneva, the research will aim to analyse in-depth the governance of esports structures to compare them to the traditional sports industry.

Esports is slowly being professionalised over the years, and as the industry is still establishing itself and getting the governance structures in place, loopholes in the protection of online gamers have the potential to appear. While the governance structures of traditional sports have not been able to eradicate the exploitation and trafficking of young athletes, they have been able to put policies and regulatory frameworks in place to address claims of the exploitation of amateur and professional athletes.

‘This Applied Research Project, in collaboration with Mission89, is at the forefront of research on sports and human trafficking. The research outputs the team will produce will certainly be crucial and pioneering resources for the protection of children in esports environments!’ Juliana, Graduate Institute of Geneva.

The research aims to draw inspiration from the field of traditional sports to understand the diverse risks associated with specific groups of individuals within the esports community, particularly women, children, minorities and those from the Global South. The research will explore the existing protection regulatory frameworks and mechanisms against child trafficking and their applicability to the online gaming industry and which safeguarding measures have been put in place by stakeholders in the esports industry to protect and/or address the exploitation and human trafficking of esports athletes, particularly those under the age of 18.

With the aim of proposing a set of transnational policies and/or procedures and regulatory frameworks to ensure that the general governance frameworks implemented serve their purpose as a safeguarding instrument for all children in the industry, the research will aim to understand who would be tasked with implementing these safety measures in the field of esports and which gaming and/or sports bodies would have oversight of the online gaming regulatory frameworks. The research will take on an intersectional approach to explore the multifaceted arena of the online gaming industry.

‘Esports are fast becoming a dominant feature in our society attracting a younger generation. Young people participate in esports to communicate, compete and be part of a community. The regulation of the industry both in terms of self-regulation and government regulation remains at an early stage of development, and this presents a concern to the safety of children online. Therefore, this research will form the basis of a guiding tool and resource to support organizations in combating child exploitation in the online gaming industry’.

As the project progresses, the team would appreciate anyone who feels that they could contribute to the research to contact them at  ea@mission89.org . We are extremely excited about our potential collaboration and contribution to this upcoming field of research.

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Globally, one in every three victims detected is a child. Countries in West Africa, South Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean, present a much higher share of children among total victims detected. The detection of children accounts for a significantly higher proportion in developing countries. Wealthier countries tend to detect more adults than children among trafficking victims.

Main types of exploitation

Forced labor

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the African continent records the largest prevalence of children (between 5 and 17 years of age) in labour. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates confirm this geographical pattern. Some countries in West Africa are estimated to have more than 40 per cent of the total population aged between 5 and 17, engaged in child labor.

Types of forced labor include debt bondage, domestic servitude, forced child labor, and unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. The International Labor Organization estimates that 16 million victims of forced labor work in the private sector, and 4 million are in state sanctioned forced labor.

Sex Trafficking 

Sex trafficking refers to when an individual is transported from one location to another for the purpose of commercial sex, either by act of force, fraud, or coercion. If the individual is under the age of eighteen, any commercial sex act is considered trafficking even if there is no force, fraud, or coercion. 

Child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (mainly girls) are identified in every part of the world, but largely concentrated in Central America and the Caribbean and East Asia. According to the ILO, 4.8 million individuals are exploited for sex, 3.8 million adults and 1 million children. Women and children are the most common victims found to be trafficked for sex, but men and boys are also trafficked for sex.

Trafficking in sports

Sporting activities have proven to be very susceptible to the sale and exploitation of persons, especially children. Young athletes, especially footballers from Africa and other developing parts of the world seeking economic emancipation through sports, are often victims of rogue agents who connive with certain other elements, to make promises of greener pastures and potentially explosive careers to these young athletes who dream of having careers like their role models. 

Oftentimes, entire families have been known to contribute funding to facilitate such movements, believing that this way, they help one person succeed as a means of helping the entire family in the long run, when the young athlete becomes successful and in a capacity to send down money earned in stronger currency forms.  

In truth however, these mostly child athletes are sold to clubs in developed or perceivably developed nations  for profit. These young players pay these agents or intermediaries purporting to have contacts with professional clubs abroad, to obtain a contract or the opportunity to trial with a club, in arrangements that involve degrees of exploitation that only become clear to the victim upon arrival, far away from family and familiar surroundings, and subject to the terms of slavish contracts and arrangements. 

This has been described as a new form of child slavery that leaves players in a precarious legal position. While there is a growing body of literature on trafficking in sports, there is still a sufficient lack of data on this problem. However, it remains true that the chase for opportunities from a position of economic vulnerability, remains the major reason for sports trafficking to thrive despite efforts to combat the scourge, as victims continue to surge towards these agents in the hopes of breakthrough, oftentimes, even despite advice to the contrary. 

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Trafficking comes in many forms. According to Article 3 of the 2000 UN Protocol on Human Trafficking, trafficking in persons shall mean:

Article 3 of the 2000 UN Protocol on Human Trafficking states that trafficking in persons shall mean: An action (recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt), a means (threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or a position of vulnerability, or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person) and a purpose (at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs).

• Any action (recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt)
• Means (threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or a position of vulnerability, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person, having control over another person)
• And a purpose (at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs).

You will notice that this definition consists of three important elements – action, a means, and a purpose. 

The sequential interaction of these three elements completes the cycle that creates victims of trafficking. From the acquaintance in your local community who knows someone who can organize a job or visa, to the individual who facilitates illegal crossing at the border, to the person who supplies rooms to accommodate the victims in transit, to the person who eventually buys the victim, it is a cycle that ends in modern day slavery.

The first European definition came with the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. The convention evolved the UN legislation and provided stricter measures on protecting and promoting the rights of trafficked persons. 

The EU definition differs to that which is contained in the 2000 UN Protocol on Human Trafficking, and the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. In terms of definition, the EU definition includes illegal adoption or forced marriage as examples of exploitation.

Action Element of Human Trafficking

Recruitment which involves enlisting new people to be exploited, and transportation, is a broad term which can occur nationally or across borders. Also, there are no limits as to the type of transportation it may include. Transportation may include carriage by car, foot, flights, etc., over long or short distances. As such, if a person is moved from one house to another by a means (deceit or force) for the purpose of exploitation, this is enough to constitute human trafficking. 

The transfer element of action refers to the handing over of an individual from one person/group to another.

Harboring refers to accommodating or housing a victim for the purpose of the removal of organs. The receipt of persons is an extensive term that includes receiving victims at the place where they will be exploited or, at various places along their journey path, enroute their destination.

Means element of human trafficking 

This is key and pivotal in understanding the etymology of human trafficking. As already stated above, there are seven acknowledged means of facilitating human trafficking operations around the world:

1. Threat or use of force 
2. Coercion 
3. Abduction 
4. Fraud 
5. Deception 
6. Abuse of power or vulnerability 
7. Giving or receiving payments or benefits

For sports trafficking, which we are particular about at Mission 89, the means mostly involves deception which eventually reveals itself as fraud and abuse of vulnerability. This is because victims are often too eager to escape economic situations considered difficult, banking on the success of their sports careers through the eyes and imaginations of the wonderful promises made by rogue agents who are only itching to make profit, before moving on to scout for their next victims. 

Exploitation element of human trafficking

Where the concept of human exploitation arises in international legal instruments, it is not defined. Defining exploitation is problematic and currently is resolved at a national level.

However, this much is true: manipulating young athletes to leave their homelands through underhand means, to sign slavish contracts with sports clubs no better than slave camps, are a perfect explanation of what the concept of exploitation is about. 

Would you like to join the movement against Sports Trafficking? Contact us here

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Mission 89 in collaboration with the Sport Journalists Association of the Gambia (SJAG) on Saturday 16th January, organised an 8-kilometre Media Run Against Trafficking in Sport in The Gambia. The event, which started and ended at the Traffic Lights in Banjul, attracted over 200 people from diverse sectors of society. The President of SJAG, Musa Sise, serving as event MC, read a statement on behalf of Mission89. He thanked Mission 89 for the partnership and emphasised the need for the media to be at the forefront of the challenges in sport, such as human trafficking.

Addressing the participants before the warm-up, the Minister for Youth and Sport, Mr. Bakary Badjie praised Mission 89 and SJAG for the first of its kind awareness raising campaign, commending the impressive turn-out. Mr. Badjie said, “we were not even thinking about human trafficking in sport, we were thinking about human trafficking in other areas”. He emphasised that Mission 89 and SJAG has stimulated government through the Ministry to take up the issue with other stakeholders in the sport sector, at other levels, to prevent young Gambians from falling prey of trafficking in sport.

Minister for Youth and Sport of the Gambia, Bakary Badjie being interviewed during the run.

Diverse voices of stakeholders
The Run attracted a large turn-out of enthusiastic key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Participants came from a wide range of institutions such as the National Agency Against Trafficking in Person, the Gambia Immigration Department, International Organization for Migration country office, African Legal Charter, the National Youth Council, National Sports Council, the Gambia Football federation, among others. Other participants included the Walk for Health team, members of the local media and SJAG executives, Businessmen, and Diaspora Gambians. Banka Manneh, a prominent online platform host on holidays from the USA expressed his enthusiasm on joining the campaign. “I had seen the pictures on facebook and I said, I want to be part of this to sensitise and educate our population on this issue!”

Participants who took part in the run came from diverse sectors of the society to show support to what is considered an innovative idea initiated by Mission89 and the SJAG partnership.

Breaking the silence
According to participants, the event inspires better understanding and discussions into the topic as related to the local set up and understanding. “Trafficking in sport is luring someone into something they don’t know” added a former youth coach and journalist trainer Sang Mendy. Adding, “it is important to sensitise the young ones and the parents. Most of the parents are not aware of the danger their children could be going through and it is important to sensitise these people too”. He continued, “most parents are really involved in the football trials of their children but little are they aware of the existence of fake agents and individuals who disguised on the promise of helping to get the breakthrough”. The event also serves as a wake-up call for the sport sector to scrutinise its means to strengthen the sports structures and make it economically viable for young athletes to participate. The Communications Officer of the Gambia Football Federation, Baboucarr Camara highlighted that as the custodians of football in the country, more work needed to be done with clubs in this respect to ensure that agents coming into the country are scrutinised.

In his closing remarks the President of the SJAG, emphasised that the intention is not just to organise the event and stop there, but for other organizations and individuals to take up the issue from Mission 89 and SJAG collaboration in order to stop the menace in the country.

The Executive Director of the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), Tulia Jawara and the President of the Sport Journalists Association (SJAG), Musa Sise.

The first step into the country-strategy
The Media Run is the first of a series of events Mission 89 lined-up to raise awareness in collaboration with the sports press in the West African country with over 2 million inhabitants. Other events planned include a virtual roundtable to take place on 21st January at 16h00 GMT, a training programme for sport journalists on human trafficking in sport, among others.

The Gambia has become a hub for sex trafficking, child labour and illegal migration. In 2016, a first division club in the national football league, Banjul United, lost 25 of its players through illegal migration in the Mediterranean sea. A national wrestler Ali Mbengu (Mil Franc) and national female footballer Fatim Jawara both lost their lives at sea trying to cross to Europe.

Watch the Media Run here.

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In many countries, youth with little or no access to education dream of traveling to other nations to escape a life of poverty by becoming professional football players. Opportunistic and often unscrupulous agents look to make big money from selling ‘dreams’ to vulnerable children and families willing to migrate to unknown places for a better future.

To combat this alarming phenomenon, in the early 2000s, FIFA put in place measures to safeguard the movement and transfer of underage players. Article 19, in FIFA’s Regulation on the Status and Transfer of Players (‘RSTP’), states that international transfers of players are only permitted if the player has reached at least 18 years of age. This regulation was designed to restrict the movement of underage players and prevent the trafficking of young footballers.

We caught up with James Johnson, the former Head of Professional Football at FIFA, to assess the effectiveness of this measure so far.

Over 15 years after its introduction, has Article 19 lived up to the initial expectations?

The primary original objective of the minor rules was to protect minors from mistreatment when transferring abroad. This objective remains sound. However, I question whether the rules go further than this stated objective and whether the status quo has resulted in other unintended consequences, such as unnecessary labor market restrictions for players and placing obstacles before clubs capable of providing optimal training and education opportunities for minors. I think the rules would better achieve their original objective by an enhanced focus on lifting the standards that clubs must meet in order to recruit minors.

What challenges have the football governing bodies faced in tackling child trafficking in football?

I think the football governing bodies have done a solid job with reactive sanctions on trafficking cases in football. For example, in 2015, FIFA took action against perpetrators in a case where West African players were trafficked to Laos in breach of the rules. A challenge for the industry is being able to proactively prevent these cases from occurring. I question whether the football governing bodies are equipped to do this on their own.

There is wide discussion in world football on reforming the transfer system. Should the ’reformed’ transfer system include new rules on the movement of minors?

I would like to see a robust club licensing or accreditation system in place for the recruitment of minors. In such a system, if a club wishes to recruit a minor then the club would need to be licensed or accredited by FIFA or a Confederation. Standards could then be built into the system to ensure that minors who move internationally are provided high standards of training, education and living. Put simply, those clubs that meet exemplary standards should be able to recruit minors. Those that cannot should not. Such a system would, in my view, place the best interests of the minor at the core of the rules and better achieve their primary objective.

Agents are often involved with transferring minors internationally. Should there be global licensing standards on agents to protect young players?

Yes. In general, it would be in the interests of clubs and players for governing bodies to introduce high licensing standards. This would enhance services the agent provides to the relevant client. There are many agents who would also support such a system. In developing standards, specific requirements should be placed on agents dealing with minors. The standards should also be consistent globally since trafficking involves movement across borders. FIFA recently announced that it will introduce a new set of agent regulations, including a registration and licensing system. I think this is the right direction, but the real test will be whether the new system can be effectively enforced.

Generally, as well as in football clubs, there doesn’t seem to be enough awareness of the scale of the problem of child trafficking in football. Why?

There is limited information and data on trafficking in football. Football governing bodies rely on cases that go through the system, but this is an issue that obviously occurs outside. I think the football industry – and possibly other sports – would benefit from a deeper understanding of the whole supply chain behind the trafficking of minors. This could only be achieved through research and analysis. To my knowledge, there has been little research and analysis done on trafficking in football to date. Thus, there is an opportunity to fill this space.

Why is the problem of child trafficking normally mentioned in connection with football? Other sports, though in different ways, are also involved. How could football take the lead on this issue?

I would hypothesize that there are more potential trafficking cases across borders in football as compared to other sports simply because football is the biggest and most international sport. I think the football industry needs to be realistic about what football governing bodies are capable of on their own and where cooperation with others could enhance the ability to prevent trafficking. I think there is an opportunity – and even a need – to bring the football governing bodies together with governmental authorities and NGOs. Practices to prevent trafficking would improve if each of these groups unite to share information, knowledge and address the issue in a coordinated manner.

This article is part of a series of interviews conducted by Mission89 on child trafficking in football with key sports administrators, personalities, academics and educators.

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When a man claiming to be a player agent turned up in his town, driving a big car, saying he knew a lot of important people, and saying had taken other young players to Europe, well, it was difficult to ignore what he said.

“He showed some photos he had taken with white people,” explains Edafe, today. “I don’t know how they do that — maybe it’s Photoshop — to show that they had the opportunity to travel.

“They bring a document that says they want to take 30 young players abroad; that for the very first game you play, any game, a trial match or whatever, they will give you $2000. When you sign the contract you will start earning anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000.”

The dream turned to a nightmare when Edafe was abandoned with his team mates far from home and far from Europe. Like pretty much every teenager, playing professional soccer seemed a fantastic way to break his family out of a desperate cycle of poverty. The reality was deception, tricks, and fraud.

In October, Edafe addressed the #notinourgame event at the European Parliament in Brussels co-hosted by Mission 89 with the European Parliament’s Sport Intergroup and the Amersi Foundation.

The trafficking survivor described his  experience and called on professional footballers – who hold an influential position among aspiring athletes and are role models for millions of fans around the world – to take a leading role in educating young footballers and their families on legitimate pathways to a career in professional sports.

Please watch the video address here:

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The World Game’s story highlights Mission 89 and the organization’s effort to bring together stakeholders and push grassroots education programs on legitimate pathways to a career in professional sport.

“The exploitation of children is a grave violation of human rights,” Mission 89 spokesperson Matthew Hall told The World  Game.

“Fake football agents using fake promises to recruit young men into an underworld of illegal immigration and crime is a concern for all of us. Football should not be a platform to exploit vulnerable people.

“Mission 89 is not interested in a blame game. Instead, we want to help individuals and organisations with the authority, resources and power to address this issue head on. We want to stamp this out.

“Trafficking in football is a complex issue but the professional players across Europe have the power to make a big difference.”

Professional players have been identified as potentially playing a leading role in grassroots education programs across Africa. The story also highlights September’s meeting in Brussels that saw child trafficking in sport placed on the European Union’s political agenda.

Click here to read the story ‘Mission launched to stamp out African ‘slave trade’ in full.

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MEP Bogdan Wenta said the European Parliament’s Sport Intergroup would table a parliamentary question to the European Commision and place trafficking in sport on the EU political agenda.

“It is crucial to create and raise awareness around the issue of human trafficking as related to professional sport and acknowledge the magnitude of the problem,” said Wenta.

The event – co-hosted by Wenta, non-profit Mission 89, the European Parliament Sport Intergroup, and the Amersi Foundation – was the first time multiple sport stakeholders had met under the same roof in Europe to discuss trafficking in sport – particularly football.

Participants agreed to actively pursue concrete measures to eradicate trafficking in sport.

Attendees included representatives from FIFA, the Premier League, the International Labor Organization, the Office of Sport of the Italian government, Interpol, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Athletics Integrity Unit, Council of Europe, International Centre for Sport Security, SIGA, the European Football Agents Association, Kampos St-Denis, West Ham United Foundation, the University of Loughborough, University of Liverpool.

A powerful video testimony from football trafficking survivor Matthew Edafe of Nigeria rallied the audience to challenge a status quo where the issue is widely ignored. Edafe, who was recruited in Nigeria and then abandoned en route to Europe by fake agents, called for professional footballers to take a leading role in educating young Africans on legitimate pathways to a career in professional sport.

“The EU should not ignore the importance of trafficking in sport and its dramatic impact due to Europe’s attractiveness for youth athletes,” said Mission 89 Executive Director Lerina Bright. “This gives a responsibility to re-open discussion inside Parliament and for this subject to be debated until a structured and sustainable solution can be proposed.”

Baroness Young of Hornsey (UK), said the exploitation of children and young adults in sport cannot be tolerated and that collaboration across industry sectors and among stakeholders was “vital”.

“We can’t sweep this issue under the carpet,” Young said. “Addressing it and finding solutions is something we can do. It is easy to sign up to a charter but the next step is asking ourselves what we can actually do. We need leadership and we need people to stand up and say not in our game and commit to something concrete.”

Chris Eaton, a former FIFA and Interpol official who is now a consultant to the International Center for Sports Security, called on FIFA and regional football confederations to register and regulate players agents and register and regulate youth training camps and coaching schools.

Eaton said a publicly available registry of players, agents, and youth training schools would enable families to have confidence in who they are dealing with on behalf of their children.

Media representative Juliet Bawuah described the value of launching educational campaigns through social media to reach aspiring young athletes in Africa.

Mohamed Amersi, of the Amersi Foundation, linked the exploitation of athletes to the broader issue of modern day slavery.

“This was a groundbreaking gathering that took positive steps to address the eradication of youth exploitation and trafficking in sport,” Amersi said. “In terms of purchasing slave made goods, Europe follows the United States as the biggest abuser of modern day slavery. It is important that sport and institutional leaders recognize their important role in changing the status quo and particularly protecting the most vulnerable and marginalized.”

Baroness Young called for the group to reconvene within six months.

“There is a sense of urgency and a willingness to move forward together,” said Baroness Young.

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