AMIR KHAN has helped co-found the new Global Fighters Union, whose mission statement is to ‘elevate standards across the board in combat sports’.
Ahead of its official launch in January, the GFU have called on the support of broadcasters to help turn the new organisation into boxing’s answer to the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The PFA and the football leagues have a long-term agreement in which revenue from broadcast agreements fund player welfare, grassroots development, education and community initiatives. It is understood to be worth around £25m annually.
Now former world champion Khan has decided to get involved in boxing’s search for a similar system. He 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 GFU recognised that boxing and MMA are among the few professional workplaces without any union representation and are seeking to change that in the new year when they become a fully recognised union.
Former British champion Paul Smith (above), who is also a GFU co-founder, added: “We’ve spent 2024 laying the groundwork for the GFU to become a recognised trade union, and we will launch it officially 1 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 1 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.”
