A/HRC/40/51 the existing system appears to be ineffective in dissuading clubs from violating regulations in force that are supposed to represent a first line of a child protection mechanism. 57. There has also been a growing practice in some countries wishing to quickly obtain sporting success at the elite level by getting athletes to change their nationality. This has led to exploitative situations, notably involving runners. There have been several cases of young African athletes being offered contracts to become citizens of countries in the Gulf region or Central Asia. Upon arrival, the contracts are found to be non-existent and the athletes are regularly exploited.21 58. In the Middle East, the kafala sponsorship system can place children in vulnerable situations. Under previous FIFA regulations governing eligibility to play for representative teams, countries in the Middle East had made use of this system in order not to fall foul of regulations when recruiting future players to represent their countries. In 2008, the FIFA rules on eligibility to play for representative teams were changed to prevent countries from exploiting children and fielding entire teams of foreign-born players.22 59. The kafala sponsorship system entails a direct tie between the person entering a country and the employer or sponsor. The inherent power imbalance of the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored individual can lead to “restrictions on free movement, confiscation of passports, delayed or non-payment of salaries, long working hours, untreated medical needs, and violence”.23 2. Third party ownership 60. The question of third party ownership in the context of football has raised grave human rights concerns. Third party ownership consists of an agreement between football clubs and third parties (individuals, investment funds, businesses, etc.) to own parts of the “economic rights” of players. This system gives the parties a real power of control over clubs and the players, and can have a direct impact on their agency and right to freely decide on their career choices.24 Generally speaking, even though this system refers to the purchase of the “economic rights” of players, it commodifies their person and can lead to a relationship of ownership with the third parties. 61. The practice first developed in Latin America and reached epidemic proportions. In Brazil, for example, it is understood that up to 90 per cent of footballers in the First Division were playing under a third party ownership agreement. 25 62. The response of FIFA was to ban third party ownership in 2015. Nonetheless, the practice persists across the world, and FIFA has opened numerous investigations and issued sanctions against several clubs.26 3. Sports academies 63. Closely linked to third party ownership is the development of football academies in the Global South. The main aim of these academies is to scout very young talent, in some cases children as young as 10, in order to be able to transfer them to the Global North following intensive training. Abuses are frequent, with children facing arduous schedules with little contact with their families, and ultimately having little or no say about their career choices once they are transferred out of the academies. Big clubs often will use third party ownership schemes through their ownership of smaller clubs to ensure that they can directly source young talent from these academies, in direct violation of the FIFA ban. 27 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 M. Kelner, “‘We are treated like sporting slaves’: Ethiopian lifts lid on trade in athletes”, Guardian, 3 August 2017. FIFA, circular No. 1147 to the members on eligibility to play for representative teams, 18 June 2008. ILO Regional Office for Arab States, Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring Scope for Internal Labour Market Mobility and Fair Migration (Beirut, 2017), p. 3. FIFPro, “FIFPro versus third party ownership”, 29 March 2014. KPMG Associates, Project TPO, 8 August 2013. See www.fifa.com/governance/news. Spiegel Online, “How clubs profit by exploiting young African Talent”, 9 November 2018. 9