UN / SPORTS HUMAN TRAFFICKING

STORY: UN / SPORTS HUMAN TRAFFICKING
TRT: 02:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

SHOTLIST:

18 SEPTEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY

1. Tilt up United Nations Headquarters

25 SEPTEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, conference room
3. Med shot, participants
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Delphine Schantz, Director, New York Office, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
“There is an increasing concern about human trafficking in sports. We know that transnational organized criminal groups infiltrate the transfer markets of athletes to exploit for illicit profits. UNODC has documented instances of trafficking in football, in which contract with young athletes are highly exploitative and favorable to the player, with agents taking a large share of the profits made by the athletes. This activity usually involves children or young adults living in precarious situations, which can be who can be easily deceived and convinced to pay for services or sign exploitative contracts.”
5. Med shot, participants
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Samuel Eto’o, President, Federation of Cameroon Football (FECAFOOT):
“The footballer's passport is a unique identifier for worldwide use. It is not the only measure. Since July 1st, 2020, member associations have been required to set up an electronic registration system for players as well as a national system for regulating national transfers.”
7. Wide shot, conference room
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Samuel Eto’o, President, Federation of Cameroon Football (FECAFOOT):
“I think we have the solution in front of us. We need more rules respected by everybody. I am going to make just a banal example. We very often focus on men in football, but those who are most exposed are the girls, our women. and I think that the authorities that run football should be much more vigorous in respecting the laws and the tests.”
9. Wide shot, conference room

STORYLINE:

A High-level event today (25 Sep) at United Nations Headquarters brought together key sports stakeholders such as the President of the Football Federation of Cameroon, former FC Barcelona player Samuel Eto’o, and technology leaders to address the existing gaps and threats of trafficking in sports and how technology can be utilized to find lasting solutions.

The Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) New York Office, Delphine Schantz, told the meeting that there is “increasing concern about human trafficking in sports” and highlighted that “transnational organized criminal groups infiltrate the transfer markets of athletes to exploit for illicit profits.”

UNODC, Schantz SAID, “has documented instances of trafficking in football, in which contract with young athletes are highly exploitative and favorable to the player, with agents taking a large share of the profits made by the athletes.”

This activity, she said, “usually involves children or young adults living in precarious situations, which can be who can be easily deceived and convinced to pay for services or sign exploitative contracts.”

It is estimated that more than 15,000 children are trafficked from West Africa into Europe every year with false hopes of making it as professional footballers, by taking advantage of loopholes in law enforcement, utilizing new technologies, and finding better ways to lure potential victims.

Eto’o, who played for European teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Chelsea, and was elected African Footballer of the Year in four occasions, noted that the 2022 FIFA reform of the transfer system included the issuing of an electronic player passport (EPP) that provides a player’s registration history from the age of 12.

Eto’o said, “the footballer's passport is a unique identifier for worldwide use. It is not the only measure. Since July 1st, 2020, member associations have been required to set up an electronic registration system for players as well as a national system for regulating national transfers.”

He said, “we need more rules respected by everybody” adding that “we very often focus on men in football, but those who are most exposed are the girls, our women. and I think that the authorities that run football should be much more vigorous in respecting the laws and the tests.”