On May 26, 2025, the Sports Law Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association successfully held an online event titled “Legal Protection of Football Players: How Contracts, Transfers, and Trade Unions Work.” The event gathered lawyers, representatives of football clubs, trade union activists, athletes, and others interested in the protection of football players’ rights.

During the session, participants discussed a range of important topics, including:

• The role of trade unions in protecting players’ rights — from participating in negotiations with clubs to representing athletes in labour disputes;
• Trade union dispute resolution practices and examples of successfully defending players’ rights;
• Employment and contractual relations in football, including common mistakes when signing a first professional contract;
• Gender inequality in sports, including discrimination and unequal treatment of women footballers;
• Guarantees for players in cases of injury, dismissal, suspension, or non-payment of wages.

Moderators:

Yevhenii Promskyi, Chair of the UBA Sports Law Committee, and Hanna Hnizdovska, Deputy Chair of the Committee.

Speakers included representatives of leading sports organizations:

• Roman Morozov, Deputy Chair of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union “Football of Ukraine”;
• Yuliia Grechko, Chief Legal Counsel of the All-Ukrainian Association of Professional Footballers.

The event sparked strong interest among attendees and confirmed the continued relevance of legal protection for athletes in the context of modern Ukrainian football. The organizers announced plans to continue the series of thematic events in the near future.