Global Fighters’ Union calls on broadcaster support

The Global Fighters’ Union has called on broadcasters to support initiatives to improve standards in boxing and MMA.

The organisation, which will officially launch as a fully recognised union in January 2025, wants broadcasters to help it emulate the relationship between the Professional Footballers’ Association and football leagues. This sees revenue from broadcast agreements fund player welfare, grass roots development, education, and community initiatives.

GFU co-founder and former two weight boxing world champion Amir Khan said “There has to be an organisation that’s above everything, that we all have to report to if there’s an issue in any situation. We’ve all had issues, in training, before fights after fights at weigh-ins, on contracts, in retirement.  We can’t turn to promoters or boards of controls for so many issues, so to be able to turn to the Global Fighters’ Union for help and get it from people who have been there and done it not just between the ropes but in trade unions, in politics, in law, in the media and in education will be a massive positive change for everyone in our sport.”

The Global Fighters’ Union hopes to tackle issues including fair contracts, improved pay and benefits, and access to insurance and retirement plans, and is committed to, “legal advocacy, health and safety initiatives, educational programs, and fostering a global community of fighters passionate about elevating the sport’s standards”.

It is specifically aiming to use broadcaster revenue towards securing fair and transparent contracts, ensuring minimum pay guarantees, and advocating for equitable revenue sharing, as well as improving fighter safety, combatting workplace discrimination, protecting image rights, and providing post-career transition support.

DAZN bills itself as the home of fight sports in the UK, airing over 150 boxing bouts a year and many MMA events. TNT Sports shows UFC in the UK, and Sky Sports airs a number of boxing events.

Paul Smith, former boxing champion and co-founder of the Global Fighters’ Union, said: “We’ve spent 2024 laying the groundwork for the GFU to become a recognised trade union and we will launch it officially one year after we announced our plans to build it. Through 2024 our team, structure and targets have all been established, and we will start the process of change in combat sports with a list of year one actions to be published shortly.  It’s the right time for a new organisation dedicated to improving the business of combat sports at all levels to emerge, and we are grateful for all the support which has got us to this point.”

Paul Maloney, former leader of the GMB Union South and co-founder of the GFU, said: “The GFU will prioritise achieving parity for its members with regard to funding packages provided by other sporting rights owners to the trade unions representing their athletes. There is no place in modern sport for a landscape where workplace rights enjoyed by footballers and other sports people are denied to combat sports participants.”