The Professional Footballers Union (SJPF) and the Judicial Police (PJ) joined forces to combat human trafficking in football. Today, at the conference entitled “Trafficking in Human Beings is a Crime” on the occasion of the European Day to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Joaquim Evangelista and Luís Neves wanted to convey a message of zero tolerance towards the “theft of dreams”.

The PJ director began by recalling that the PJ “never definitively invested in the investigation” of these types of crimes because it “did not even have access to the databases” of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF). And that from November 1, with the integration of this reinforcement of 700 people from SEF, the fight will be more effective. “Victims of human trafficking do not speak out because they are petrified by fear. They can’t report it. This applies here, just as it applies to match manipulation, sports manipulation, and intimidation. Because there isn’t exactly a victim. The police are not bogeymen, the police must be informed. Anyone can talk to us. Anyone who speaks and reports cannot be considered a traitor, but seen as a contribution to citizenship. With the reinforcements of the SEF we will have a strong and robust institution. We have a duty to respond to the victims, we must free them from those who steal their dream of becoming a footballer.”said Luis Neves.

According to data sent to the DN by the SEF in June, in the past five years (2018-2022), there have been 63 investigations involving sports institutions and foreign citizens engaged in sports activities, with 103 defendants summoned. Human trafficking, exploitation and support for illegal immigration caused approximately 260 victims.

Joaquim Evangelista was aware that “crime is always ahead of those who fight against it”, lamented “the ill will of the district associations and municipalities” in this fight and expressed his anger at seeing players, ex-players and coaches who were involved in what he considered a crime. ‘plague’ of national dimension.

And he called for a more interventionist state and to play upfront and in defense of the victim. “I thank the SEF, which enabled us to take action and make a difference in football. We are well aware of the vulnerability of the victims. When we are aware of a player in this situation, We immediately take action. We help him report this and support him in his return home. If a day or two passes, we lose the timing and feed the monster. The state must open the door to those who need help . I insist on the role of local organizations. Why not create a supervisory organization? for local clubs and understand the reality? They appreciated these entities, be they football associations and municipal councils, and helped fight this scourge. As for the Bsports case: what happened to the young people and the aggressors in this case? I don’t know’ I didn’t know anything else, it was no longer in the news. That’s what we want to know: what was the role of the state? Was it just but finding a house or treating those people with dignity? Have the attackers been made defendants? Are there criminal investigations taking place? I hope the media will also help in this matter,” asked Joaquim Evangelista.

Following the revelation of the BSports case, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport set up a working group to discuss combat measures, of which the Union is a member, which saw that “almost all proposals made were accepted”, such as drawing up “a manual for the access and reception of foreign players in Portugal” or the creation of an online platform to report and identify these cases.”

According to the union leader, the PJ and especially the SEF “will be a great ally in this issue” and “it is important that we all know how this phenomenon has developed and is still developing in the country”.

PROPOSAL FROM THE PLAYERS UNION

1. The Players’ Union will launch in the next sporting season a manual for the entry and reception of Brazilian players, which can later be adopted for other nationalities most affected by this scourge.

2. The Players’ Association defends the creation of an online platform (SOS Futebol), in the form of an observatory, which guarantees the sharing of all information, news, legislation and case law, reporting mechanisms and social responses, in order to present in one space the relevant welcome information on this subject.

AT THE PEDAGOGICAL AND AWARENESS LEVEL OF SPORTS AGENCIES AND SOCIETY

1. The Players’ Association argues that, in addition to requiring all sports agents, in particular sports directors or people holding management positions in sports companies, to provide proof of their criminal record, it is equally important to provide a registration declaration of interests that allows supervisory entities to understand direct or indirect links with football companies and scrutinize potential conflicts of interest.
2. The Players’ Association believes that the involvement of local authorities is absolutely crucial as they often have funding program contracts or provide municipal facilities to local clubs and academies. The training of local prevention officers, aimed at identifying suspicious cases, in collaboration with the regional football association and local authorities, also appears to be an important measure.
3. Response Network for Victims of Assistance in Illegal Immigration or Fraud: As institutionalized for multidisciplinary teams responding to the needs of victims of trafficking in human beings, the Players Union defends an integrated system of support for all players who are victims of this scourge, regardless of the legal qualification thereof
specific case, in terms of residence, social integration and, if necessary, repatriation.