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.