In June 2000 the European Championship football will be held in the Netherlands and Belgium. This occasion will be used by the campaigns in these 2 countries to bundle their efforts toward the improving of the working conditions in the garment and sportshoe industry. The European Championship will once again be the theatre- where the large sportswear companies will compete for the -best sponsor contracts. The money that will be spent on sponsorships stands out against the low wages that are paid to the workers that actually make the sportshoes and garments that these companies sell. The fans of the champi-onship, and of course all other consumers, will be asked to focus their attention on the world behind the footballshows; on working conditions that can come down to workweeks beyond 80 hours a week, not being able to organise in an union, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions for a wage that can hardly be lived on.

What's going on…

At the beginning of March 1999 the UEFA offered the tickets for the matches that will be played in 8 stadion for sale. At the same time the Clean Clothes Campaign in the Netherlands and the French speaking part of Belgium have issued tickets. Consumers are asked to buy one ticket for at least 5 Euro. The money that is so collected will be used to buy an advertissement in a national newspaper in which a public appeal will appear. In this appeal the consumers who bought the ticket will ask the UEFA, the organising committee and the sportswear producers to make sure that the articles with the FIFA logo are produced under the working conditions described in the code.

In the French speaking part of Belgium the first appreal has been published in "Le Soir" on the 9th of September, and marked the real start of the campaign. The appeal was signed by more than 1000 consumers among which was the team of Mouscron. On the 13th of September the team of Excesior signed the appeal as well.

12 December will be the date for the drawing of the poules. This was a main event and therefore around this date appeals were published in newspapers in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Netherlands the appeal is signed by the team of Willem II, about 20 organisations and about 400 consumers.

To mark the event a press conference was held at the 10th of december in Brussels. Major newspapers were attending the event were also a football player from the Red devils (Belgium national team) spoke out against bad labour conditions and signed an appeal.

On the 12th of December representatives of the campaigns in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and witnesses from Indonesia, Hong Kong and Pakistan were in Brussel, near the venue where the drawing of the poules take place. Our event was broadcasted on different television channnels in Belgium. Casefiles have been made on Nike, Adidas, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Par Garment and Formosa (these can be send by e-mail to those interested) and can be soon found on www.cleanclothes.org.

After the drawing of the poules

Ofcourse the campaign is just really taking of in December. You can say we were just warming up. In Germany a marathon will be organised, in Belgium all kinds of mini football tournaments and the organising of the biggest supporter group will take place in the Netherlands and in Belgium. We will send around a more extensive update on the future within a few weeks.