FAs urged to tackle the exploitation of workers

FOOTBALL associations behind the teams in the World Cup were urged yesterday to make sure workers who made replica soccer strips were not being exploited.

Research for the British TUC and campaign group Labour Behind The Label showed people in parts of China, Central America and Indonesia were working long hours in unsafe factories for poor pay.

Millions of the replica kits made by the exploited workers have been sold in the run-up to the World Cup, netting millions of euro for sports firms, which sponsor national teams. A report by the groups called Sweet FA, claimed working 80 hours a week was not unusual, while workers who tried to form unions risked dismissal.

The general secretary of Britain’s TUC Brendan Barber said: “With so much money being made from the beautiful game, the sportswear giants must be made to play fair.

“An industry worth billions should be able to ensure basic rights and a decent living wage for all its workers.

“Football associations could actually make the difference and kick exploitation into touch. They could insist workplace rights we all take for granted are not just a distant dream for millions of workers.”

The report said that it recognised that some of the sportswear companies such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Umbro had made an attempt to stop some of the worst kind of abuses in the factories from which they sourced their goods.