Brendan Schwab

Brendan Schwab (born 10 March 1968) is an Australian sports administrator and lawyer, specialising in labour law, collective bargaining and dispute resolution, particularly in professional team sports. He is a Vice President and board member of FIFPro, the world footballers' union based in the Netherlands which represents an estimated 65 thousand professional footballers. He is also Chairman of FIFPro Asia/Oceania, which represents players' associations in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Palestine and New Zealand.[1]

In 2002, he became one of FIFPro's inaugural nominees to the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) and in 2009 was reappointed to that body for a four-year term. In this role, Schwab regularly attended hearings in Zurich, as part of a panel to adjudicate disputes between professional footballers and clubs. In 2013, he stepped down from the DRC to join the FIFA Players' Status Committee which is charged with making recommendations to the FIFA Executive Committee on regulations that affect professional footballers.[2] He is one of six player nominees on this Committee which regularly meets at FIFA House in Zurich. Schwab worked alongside FIFA Vice President Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan to lift a ban imposed by FIFA on female footballers wearing the hijab during football matches.[3]

In 1993, he co-founded the Australian Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) which reprsesents Australia's elite professional footballers plying their trade in Australia and around the world. He was the long serving Chief Executive and General Counsel of the PFA, overseeing its progression during the past 20 years.[4][5]

In mid 2012, he decided to step down as CEO of the PFA and established International Player Relations (IPR),[6] a specialist legal, advocacy and advisory firm, which focuses on promoting cooperation and innovation between employees and employers.

Schwab is a co-founder of the Australian Athletes’ Alliance (AAA), and the chief architect of the body's charter of athletes rights.[7] AAA represents eight player unions and over 3,500 athletes in sports such as AFL,[8] basketball, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, netball, horse racing (jockeys) and, of course, football. He presently acts as the AAA’s part-time General Secretary.[9]

Since 1992, he has forged a close professional relationship with Braham Dabscheck, Australia's leading academic on the industrial relations aspects of professional team sports. In 1998, they undertook an organisational review of the AFL Players' Association which transformed that body.[10] Their latest project was assisting the Rugby League Players' Association in the negotiation of a new five year collective bargaining agreement following the sport's record broadcast rights agreement. They are presently leading the PFA's CBA negotiations for A-League, Socceroos and Matildas players.

Schwab has also held non-executive positions on the Board of an industry super fund, the peak body for Australia's symphony orchestras and has been a director and Vice President of an AFL Club. He has also held senior positions in the entertainment industry including as CEO of Live Performance Australia from 2003 - 2006 and represented media and entertainment employers at the International Labor Organisation in Geneva in 2004.

He is a vocal campaigner in media circles often sought for comment on football matters, broader athlete issues such as drugs in sport, match fixing and player welfare and development.[11] He provided evidence before Senate Hearings into ASADA in 2013 and Australian soccer in 1995 and is a regular presenter at industry conferences and sports law seminars. In February 2013, he was a guest speaker at the FIFA/Interpol Conference on Match Fixing in Malaysia.[12]

Schwab holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Business Administration. He is married with four children. He is the son of the late Alan Schwab, who was a prominent sports administrator and VFL commissioner, and the brother of Cameron Schwab, who is the former chief executive officer of the Melbourne Football Club.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "FIFPro Asia wants closer AFC links". ESPN Star. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  2. ↑ http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/footballgovernance/disputeresolutionsystem/playerstatuscommittee/index.html
  3. ↑ http://www.fifpro.org/en/news/fifpro-supports-proposal-for-headscarf-rule-change
  4. ↑ http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/blog/2012/04/21/true-champion-game
  5. ↑ "FIFPro Supports Players". Australian Professional Footballers' Association. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  6. 1 2 Lynch, Michael (18 April 2012). "Schwab quits players' union". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ↑ http://www.ausathletesall.com.au/content/aaa-launches-charter-athletes’-rights-and-policy-platform
  8. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/brendan-schwab-urges-afl-to-establish-independent-body-20140726-zx448.html
  9. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/australian-athletes-alliances-brendan-schwab-calls-for-afl-players-integrity-unit-20140723-zw2wo.html
  10. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-12-10/40-years-of-the-aflpa
  11. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/sport/why-australian-sports-must-cut-ties-with-wada-20140615-zs8k1.html
  12. ↑ http://www.fifpro.org/en/news/fifpro-asia-spoke-at-interpol-match-fixing-conference
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