The lowering of the minimum age for professional football players from 16 years to 15 years
The minimum age for professional football players will be reduced on June 16, 2018. Where previously the minimum age for concluding employment contracts was 16 years, this has now been lowered until the end of full-time compulsory education. This is 15 years if the first two years of secondary education were completed.
On June 6, 2018 it was published in the Belgian Official Gazette Royal Decree of May 25, 2018 amending the Royal Decree of 18 July 2001 establishing, for the practice of certain sports, the minimum age required to enter into an employment contract for paid sportspeople. The Royal Decree comes into effect on June 16, 2018.
What exactly was changed?
Well, Article 6 of the Act of 24 February 1978 on the employment contract for paid sportspeople has long provided for the provision that employment contracts can be concluded at the earliest from the end of full-time compulsory education. However, the provision states that higher age limits may be set for certain sports:
“The employment contract for paid sportspeople can only be validly entered into, and at the earliest, from the end of full-time compulsory education.
After advice from the National Joint Committee for Sport, the King may set a higher age for the practice of certain sports than immediately after the end of full-time compulsory education.”
This higher age limit was also introduced for a number of sports by the Royal Decree of 18 July 2001 establishing, for the practice of certain sports, the minimum age required to enter into an employment contract for paid sportspeople.
These sports were mainly basketball, football, volleyball and cycling. For these sports, the minimum age was increased to 16 years for part-time employment contracts where the athlete is available to the employer for a maximum of 80 hours per month, and to 18 years for full-time employment contracts and part-time employment contracts where the athlete is available to the employer for more than 80 hours per month.
Article 1 in question provides more specifically as follows:
“The age referred to in Article 6 of the Act of 24 February 1978 on the employment contract for paid sportspeople, from which the employment contract for paid sportspeople can only be validly entered into, and at the earliest, is determined as follows, for the exercise of the sports of basketball, football, volleyball and cycling:
– for an employment contract for paid sportspersons concluded for part-time work which provides for an employment arrangement whereby the paid sportsperson is available to the employer for a maximum of 80 hours per month: 16 years, without prejudice to the provisions regulating compulsory education and the provisions of the Labor Act of 16 March 1971 that apply to young employees;
– for an employment contract for paid sportspeople concluded for part-time work which provides for an employment arrangement in which the paid sportsperson is available to the employer for more than 80 hours per month, as well as for an employment contract for paid sportspeople concluded for full-time work: 18 years.”
By art. 1 of the “Royal Decree of 25 May 2018 amending the Royal Decree of 18 July 2001 establishing, for the exercise of certain sports, the minimum age required to enter into an employment contract for paid sportspeople” the word became “football” cancelled:
“In Article 1 of the Royal Decree of 18 July 2001 establishing, for the practice of certain sports, the minimum age required to enter into an employment contract for paid sportspeople, the words “football,′′ abolished.”
As a result, football is no longer seen as an exempt sport and football falls back under the original regulation of art. 6 of the law of 24 February 1978 regarding the employment contract for paid sportspeople.
From June 16, 2018, football players can conclude an employment contract from the end of full-time compulsory education. Full-time compulsory education runs until the age of 15, provided that at least the first two years of secondary education have been completed. In any case, full-time compulsory education ends at the age of 16.
This means de facto that football players – unlike cyclists, volleyball players and basketball players – can sign an employment contract one year earlier and at the age of 15 from 16 June 2018.