Are better times dawning for footballers?

A new players’ association is being formed in Slovakia

There is no doubt that when court cases over unpaid club bonuses to footballers are currently underway, players also need their own association to protect their interests. In Slovakia, however, past attempts to establish a respected association have either failed or those that were created were not sufficiently representative. This is confirmed by the fact that we are one of the few European countries without representation in the international players’ association FIFPRO. It now seems, however, that better times are on the horizon and this situation may soon change.

The initiative to establish a representative players’ association has this time come from active players. Special initiative was taken by Slovan Bratislava goalkeeper Ján Mucha. When the first planned meeting of captains before the Slovakia–Switzerland international match did not take place, he contacted and brought together players from all clubs in the Slovak top league within just a few December days. They met in Nitra and formulated the captains’ declaration, in which they committed to founding a players’ association. Until its formation, they established a Council of Captains, which will have a quorum if 9 members are present. A valid decision of the council will require 7 votes, with each captain having one vote.

The Council of Captains calls on club managements to settle legitimate financial claims from players as soon as possible, and also not to place any obstacles in the way of players changing club affiliation or unilaterally terminating their contract with the club in cases where the club has failed to pay the player more than 3 basic monthly salaries within 12 months. The Council of Captains also calls on Slovak Football Association bodies to strictly follow FIFA rules and the SFZ Registration and Transfer Regulations in such cases, in accordance with the recently approved Sports Act. At the same time, they commit to providing services to their members in resolving contractual and other disputes related to sporting activity.

The new project has been signed by 26 players from twelve clubs, including all twelve captains, with the declaration being supported by roughly 95 percent of top-division players. The preparatory committee for the association includes Ján Mucha, Róbert Vittek, Marek Sapara, Viktor Pečovský, Ľubomír Michalík, Michal Gašparík and Jozef Piaček. Legal assistance in its establishment is being provided by sports lawyer Jozef Tokos. Once founded, the association will apply for membership in the international FIFPRO as soon as possible, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. “One of the reasons I am also part of the preparatory committee is that I played in Germany, France and Turkey and I know how players are valued abroad. Their rights are truly highly respected,” declared Róbert Vittek, the top scorer of the Slovak national team with 23 goals.