AGREE Project Strengthens Collective Bargaining and Good Governance Across Europe

The European player associations have launched an ERASMUS+ initiative aimed at improving good governance, athlete rights, and collective bargaining across sport.

The Athletes for Good Governance and Rights in Europe (AGREE) project brings together ten partners from across the continent, including the Football Players Association of Finland (FPA Finland), and is coordinated by the European Association of Player Associations (EAPA). 

FPA Finland´s Executive Director Panu Autio notes that the project directly supports the needs identified in Finland:  

- In Finland, we aim to strengthen structured social dialogue between players, leagues, clubs and the FA. Our aim is to negotiate better terms and a better everyday reality for players through league-wide collective agreements, standard player contracts, and national team agreements. 

Research-Based Foundations for Stronger Athlete Rights 

The project begins with a comprehensive research phase that maps the current landscape of collective bargaining in European sport. It examines how collective bargaining agreements relate to good governance and athlete rights, while identifying gaps and barriers in existing structures. This research will lead to two publications, the CBA Report and the Final Report, which will outline best practices, current shortcomings, and recommendations for the future. 

A key component of AGREE is a series of sixteen job-shadowing exchanges that allow staff from different player associations to learn directly from colleagues in other countries and sports. These exchanges strengthen practical skills in areas such as negotiating collective agreements, developing modern standard contracts, improving representation models, and building consistent governance frameworks. Seven national events will further anchor this knowledge within each country by bringing together leagues, federations, clubs and public authorities. 

Toward a European Baseline for Athlete Protections 

Based on the research and the shared experiences gathered through the project, AGREE will produce three cornerstone documents designed to clarify and raise the minimum standards of athlete protection across Europe. These include a Minimum Standard European Player Contract, a Minimum Standard European Collective Bargaining Agreement, and a Practical Guide to Collective Bargaining Agreements. Together, they provide tools that support both established and emerging player associations in building stronger negotiating structures and more predictable working conditions for athletes. 

The Finnish Perspective 

FPA Finland’s long-term ambition is to improve the everyday reality of players through league-wide agreements, stronger standard player contracts and well‑structured national team agreements. The association is also committed to strengthening mental‑wellbeing support and increasing security around injuries, especially non‑accidental sports injuries, which currently fall into legal and structural grey areas. 

Autio emphasises this priority:  

- For example, we want to strengthen players’ mental well-being and security in relation to injuries, especially with regard to non-accidental sports injuries. Going forward, we want to agree on matters concerning players more collectively and on a broader basis. 

The AGREE project offers a valuable platform to learn from established European models and gives the association practical tools to support more structured and comprehensive collective bargaining in the years ahead. 

Aku Tervaniemi`s Insights from Ireland 

FPA Finland’s Player Development Manager, Aku Tervaniemi, participated last week in a AGREE job‑shadowing visit in Ireland, where he spent time with several local sport organisations, including the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), Rugby Players Ireland (RPI) and Professional Footballers Association of Ireland (PFA Ireland). His reflections highlight the value of international learning and the relevance of Irish practices for Finland: 

- The job-shadowing visit to Ireland was an eye-opening experience and valuable for our development work at FPA Finland. For example meeting with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) gave me a concrete look at how a mature player association operates when it comes to collective bargaining, player welfare, and long-term strategic support for athletes. 

- What impressed me most was how deeply athlete voice is embedded in the Irish system, not only in negotiations, but in everyday decision-making. For Finland, this learning is highly relevant. We want to move toward a more systematic and collective approach in negotiating the conditions that shape players’ lives. The AGREE project gives us the tools and the international network to do that. Seeing how other associations have succeeded in building strong, sustainable models gives us confidence that we can take clear steps forward as well. 

Project Partners 

The AGREE consortium brings together a diverse group of European player associations, including ABP (Spanish Basketball Players Association), AJFSF (Spanish Women’s Futsal Players Association), HSF (Danish Handball Players Association), GIBA (Italian Basketball Players Association), GPA (Gaelic Players Association), FPA Finland (The Football Players Association of Finland), NL Sporter (Dutch Athletes Association) and Provale (French Rugby Players Association). The research institution is the Edge Hill University.