Paper Titles & Abstracts

The now-infamous ruling in Case 145-93 Bosman [1995] ECR I-4921 effectively created a free market for professional sportspeople in the European Union, making nationality based discrimination and restrictive practices in Europe's football transfer system illegal. EU law has continued to influence the system, whilst the sport's governing bodies have responded with a number of measures aimed at off-setting the potential impact of free movement on the status of young players with measures such as UEFA's home-grown player rules. Arguably the effect of some of these developments is to encourage child migration and to increase the likelihood of dubious practices in relation to the recruitment of young players. This paper, which is intended as a preliminary exploration for a longer research project, will consider the EU's growing children's rights agenda within the context of professional football, particularly young migrant players. It will build upon a growing literature, which argues that the EU has a responsibility to promote children's rights in fields in which its own policies have a potentially injurious impact on young people, by considering what measures should be being taken in the field of professional football. It will also consider, at a more theoretical level, the interaction between professional sport and children's rights within the specific context of the EU.