Mission 89, in partnership with Loughborough University and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch (CPA UK), has released the first-ever comprehensive Global Thematic Report on Sport Trafficking, presenting a rigorous academic and policy-oriented analysis of human trafficking within the global sports ecosystem.

The report integrates a comprehensive literature review, interdisciplinary expert consultations, forensic analysis of documented trafficking incidents, comparative international policy assessment, including contributions from global experts. While highlighting the economic benefits of the sports industry, which is estimated to be between $471 billion and $1.4 trillion annually, the report sheds light on how this lucrative industry has become a magnet for traffickers exploiting vulnerable individuals, particularly young athletes from the Global South.

According to industry stakeholders, the absence of a specific definition for ‘sport trafficking’ has presented significant challenges in distinguishing the phenomenon from migrant smuggling, irregular migration, and other forms of human trafficking, thereby preventing targeted Interventions. In addition, the US Department of State has identified significant regulatory gaps within sport governing bodies. Even established regulations, such as FIFA’s prohibition on international transfers of minors, have revealed numerous loopholes and enforcement challenges.

The report introduces a scholarly and precise definition of sport trafficking, referred to as a systematic process of recruiting and exploiting individuals within the sporting domain, characterised by coercive mechanisms that compromise individual autonomy and fundamental human rights. It not only involves the direct exploitation of athletes but also extends to the myriad ways through which the industry can serve as a conduit for labour and sexual exploitation, especially during mega sporting events which attract increased demand for informal labour and entertainment services (that may involve trafficking for sexual exploitation).

For Dr Serhat Yilmaz, the Lead Researcher of the report and Senior Lecturer in Sports Law at Loughborough University, it is quite straightforward. “Without a precise, sport-specific definition of trafficking, we are dealing with inadequate legal protections, ineffective policy development, challenges in identifying and supporting victims, limited prevention strategies, and blurred legal distinctions that allow perpetrators to escape accountability. Therefore, our objective is to bring sport trafficking out of the shadows and into focused, actionable legal and social frameworks”, he explained.

The report also presents a typology of sport trafficking supported by case studies that are identified and developed through the research. This typology of sport trafficking, as another novel aspect of the document, provides an overview of the different types of trafficking evident in, through, and around sports. In each case, the existence of the type of trafficking is determined by the presence of the necessary constituent elements of the trafficking crime as per the definition of the UN Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Protocol.

“Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 8.7 and 16.2, the research provides a foundational scholarly contribution to understanding and mitigating trafficking vulnerabilities”, said Lerina Bright, Executive Director, Mission 89. “With a clear and specialised definition, we can provide clearer legal frameworks, guide more effective policymaking, improve victim support mechanisms, enable more targeted educational efforts and help the judiciary better recognize and address these specific trafficking cases.”

The report recommends that legislators and parliamentarians develop and implement domestic anti-trafficking laws that align with the TIP Protocol and relevant regional instruments. It advocates for a ‘non-punishment’ provision to protect trafficking victims, particularly migrant athletes, from criminal prosecution for actions stemming from their trafficking experiences. Experts also advocated for the introduction of a new recognised form of exploitation encompassing severe forms of economic exploitation in order to provide stronger protection for vulnerable athletes.

Policymakers should also adjust immigration frameworks for athletes to reduce trafficker exploitation opportunities and ensure recruitment follows international best practices for labour rights. In addition, building capacity through targeted training for identifying sport trafficking and improving data collection will be essential for raising awareness and addressing this critical issue.

The report identifies a range of different areas for improvement in efforts to combat sport trafficking and more effectively protect vulnerable athletes and aspiring athletes. They are consolidated as a set of recommendations for policymakers, law enforcement, prosecutors, the judiciary, service providers, and sport organisations. In this respect, the insight of this report, typologies, and interpretive guide provide support and guidance for these actors in pursuing the recommendations and supporting anti-trafficking efforts.

Accessibility and Engagement

• Full Report: Available for download on Mission 89’s website
• Academic Inquiries: globalreport-ST@mission89.org

The post Global Thematic Report on Sport Trafficking Unveils Critical Insights into Systemic Exploitation appeared first on Mission89.

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.

The post Mission 89 x Graduate Institute Geneva: Exploring the risks of human trafficking and exploitation of children in the gaming industry appeared first on Mission89.

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. 

The post Trafficking in persons: Who is most at risk? appeared first on Mission89.

The complete reform package is a product of an extensive consultation process with many relevant stakeholders, and includes the six following measures:

1. Establishment of a cap on commissions to avoid excessive and abusive practices;
2. Limitation of multiple representation to avoid conflicts of interest;
3. Reintroduction of a mandatory licensing system for agents to raise professional standards;
4. Creation of a FIFA Clearing House to guarantee better financial transparency;
5. Establishment of an effective FIFA dispute resolution system to address disputes between agents, players and clubs;
6. Disclosing and publishing all agent-related work in transfers, to increase transparency, improve the credibility of the transfer system and support the implementation of new regulations.

Mission 89 welcomes the new regulations as they aim to improve the professional standards of agents and protect the wellbeing and rights of the minors involved in football. These regulations are not specifically designed to prevent the trafficking of children in and through football, rather they attempt to bolster the transparency of transactions and prevent fraud and money laundering in football. However, it is through the reintroduction of the mandatory agents’ licensing system that these measures also provide a useful tool for holding agents accountable for potential abuse of minors in their care. This not only speaks to the issue trafficking in football but also provides the international community an important opportunity to propose complimentary measures to expand protections for the youth.

To this end, Mission 89 believes that the following complimentary educational and technological measures could potentially create an even more robust regulatory system that addresses and tackles child trafficking in football:

1. Establishment of a mechanism that also hold clubs accountable for transactions involving agents and minors to ensure that all parties prioritise the interest and safety of the child;
2. An Evidence-based Special Safeguarding and Child Protection Education for Clubs, Players and Parents on how to deal with agents;
3. Include modules in FIFA’s new regulation of football agents’ 2020 curriculum to educate coaches and technical staff about safeguarding and child protection issues, and to certify their training;
4. Establishment of accountability mechanism that make agents and clubs more accountable for players aged 18 years and/or under, who fail their trials at clubs;
5. Granting better access to information for professional and amateur players with the use of easily accessible technology (apps or websites);
6. Organise and/or support promotional activities during large events that inform on human trafficking and the risk of exploitation by fake agents at grassroots/recreational level; and
7. Development of a harmonized FIFA dual-career program that empowers players (amateur and professional) with capacities that will serve them beyond the Game, thereby minimising the opportunity for exploitation.

Written by: Faisal Paktian

The post Recommendations for Proposed FIFA Regulations of Football Agents appeared first on Mission89.

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.

The post Interview with James Johnson, former Head of Professional Football, FIFA appeared first on Mission89.

Mata made news in 2017 for his work with the Common Goal project that was launched in August, 2017. Mata and a growing number of footballers around the world donate 1% of their salaries to global charities.

The Manchester United midfielder has been joined by 35 other football people from 17 countries – the project now includes, beyond the players, its first manager, administrator and a startup. The players include Mats Hummels, Giorgio Chiellini, Shinji Kagawa, Kasper Schmeichel, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

Mata said the inspiration for Common Goal came from seeing how teammates with diverse life experience worked together as a collective to reach their goal – winning the UEFA Champions League: “The way we had come together from all around the world to work for a common goal was more meaningful to me than the trophy. To me, that is something that can change the world for the better.”

“Football is more than a game,” says Mata. “Common Goal brings together these two levels of how football is understood. We have professional football but we also have a beautiful game, which, wherever you go, can be used as a social tool for change. Football has an unmatchable power.”

The post Juan Mata is The Guardian’s Footballer of the Year – and we think it is a great choice appeared first on Mission89.

As reported by Corriere della Sera, local authorities have revealed that there is a fast growing trend of young African football talents, with certificates, entry visas and other documents that are now suspected of being false, arriving in the Tuscan city of Prato and being presented as promising players and in some cases transferred to top-ranking football clubs in the country.

Some of the documents included false maternity certificates allegedly proving that the minors’ mother were women legally abiding in Italy.

According to local investigators, said football talents were in fact underage minors from the Ivory Coast without any form of residence permit to stay in the country. Since the initial investigation, local police have been executing extra measures with threat of jail time for those involved and a series of surveys at clubs including local AC Prato, who is now in Italian third league Lega Pro, and heightened investigations on match-fixing and betting.

The teams involved Inter, Fiorentina and Serie B side Cittadella have all received requests for access to corporate documents: authorities are investigating, in particular, the transfer of two young Africans who are accused of entering Italy with falsified documents in order for the clubs in question (AC Prato and Sestese) to obtain profits on the sale of the players. Inter, Fiorentina and Cittadella have accepted the transfers in the full conviction that everything was regular. Among the transfers that are being investigated is Ivorian Christian Kouamé’s, sold by Prato to Cittadella for 400.000 euros.

Read the story in Italian by clicking here.

Read the story in English by clicking here.

The post Italy: Trading young players under pretenses of false maternity and fake family reunions appeared first on Mission89.