Our objective is to develop statistical indicators to monitor the development of the European labour market for footballers. Initially focused on the ‘big five’ European leagues, since 2008 the sample has been enlarged to include 30 top level national championships in UEFA member countries.

 

Each year, we publish two reports. In January, the Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe catalogues the main characteristics of more than 10,000 footballers in more than 450 clubs and 30 countries. In August, the Annual Review of the European Football Players’ Labour Market analyses in detail trends among the players in the ‘big five’ European leagues in terms of training, international recruitment and player mobility.

 

Our Observatory works in partnership with the magazine France Football, the site calciatori.com, and the company Scout7. We also work actively with FIFA and UEFA, organisations for whom we have already carried out commissioned research.

 

In the coming years, we hope to strengthen our existing partnerships and develop new ones so as to incorporate further information into our databases.