By Helene Gottschalk, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Colorbox

If a 13-year-old is allowed to work at McDonald's, why can't they play professional football or tennis under the same conditions? This question is posed by researcher Jørn Sønderholm, Aalborg University in a new article that has just been accepted to The Oxford Handbook of Sports Ethics, which means that the article has been peer-reviewed and edited by renowned researchers.

In Denmark, sports clubs are forbidden from entering into contracts with youth under the age of 15, but at the same time 13-year-old children are allowed to do paid work. This is a paradox that makes no sense, according to researcher Jørn Sønderholm.

"Prohibiting children from entering into contracts before the age of 15 is a false protection, because they train intensively anyway," says the researcher.

The elite sports environment for children is unregulated

Jørn Sønderholm points out that no one wakes up on their 15th birthday with a level of talent that makes them attractive to professional clubs. It requires years of intensive training and is often a project that began when the child was 5-6 years old. But all this training takes place without a contract and without formal restrictions on training hours, or requirements for diet or recovery.

"Today, 11-12-year-old girls and boys train in tennis, football and golf at a high level and intensively, but without any kind of contractual framework. Everything that happens before they turn 15 is completely unregulated," he says.

Three conditions for professional contracts for children

The article argues that it is morally acceptable for children to have a professional contract if three conditions are met:

• The child has reached the age at which paid work is generally permitted (in Denmark, 13 years old for light work)
• The child is allowed to play the sport at a competitive level (e.g the Danish Football Association allows football at age 7-8, boxing at age 15)
• The contract complies with all the working environment and safety rules that apply to child labour in general (e.g. that the child is only allowed to train two hours a day on school days and that they are not allowed to work later than 22.00)

"If a 13-year-old is not allowed to work after 22.00 at McDonald's then they are not allowed at FC Copenhagen after that time either," Jørn Sønderholm emphasizes.

Contracts as protection – not commercialization

The researcher's point is not to commercialize childhood, but on the contrary to protect it better.

Without a formal contract with rules for what kids can and cannot do, it is up to the individual clubs and the children's parents to manage their training. And this often contributes to creating an unhealthy environment for the children.

"By introducing money earlier, we provide a framework that prevents kids from being exploited," says Jørn Sønderholm.

The researcher refers to American college sports where the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has clear rules for

how much students can train, precisely to ensure that sports do not take over their lives.

The article is part of The Oxford Handbook of Sports Ethics, published by Oxford University Press, and is expected to contribute to the international debate on children in elite sports.

About the study:

"On Professional Child Athletes: Why Serving for Money in Tennis is Morally Comparable to Serving for Money at McDonald's" was accepted for publication in The Oxford Handbook of Sports Ethics (Oxford University Press).

Contact:

Jørn Sønderholm, Professor, Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University.

Tel.: +45 6114 5711, Email: jorns@ikl.aau.dk

Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs