With not long to go before the 9 June elections, the Belgian football community unveiled a "new social contract between football, society, and politics" on Monday.
This contract is hinged on five key proposals for the political sphere to consider: boosting infrastructure investments, fostering an environment conducive to motivating volunteers, establishing a strong culture of safety, curbing digital piracy, and formulating steady policies that enhance Belgian football’s global competitiveness.
This is the first time that the Belgian football community – the Pro League, which represents the professional clubs, the Belgian Football Union and its two linguistic wings (ACFF and Voetball Vlaanderen) – came together to put forth these proposals to the political realm.
"We’re not asking for money or an exception. We ask for dialogue and collaboration. We want to meet with politicians annually to discuss the five pillars of our social contract," stated Lorin Parys, the CEO of the Pro League.
Amateur and youth football rely primarily on 80,000 volunteers. The football community seeks administrative and organisational support from authorities, as well as the provision of flexible jobs for people overseeing youth and amateur football.
Among other suggestions, concerning the aspect of security, football stakeholders are advocating the introduction of municipal administrative sanctions (SAC) for troublemakers in stadiums.
In the long run, Belgian football aims to increase its count of participants from 565,000 to 600,000, with a minimum of 85,000 in women’s football. Professional clubs have committed to investing €50 million in the development of women’s football, youth football and disability football.
