Amir Khan’s Global Fighters’ Union has called for broadcasting revenue to fund better working standards for boxers, mixed martial artists and other competitors in combat sports.
The Global Fighters’ Union is seeking a similar arrangement to the Professional Footballers’ Association, which receives a £25m annual subsidy from the Premier League’s TV contracts.
Khan’s union, which will officially launch next month, wants to use the money to advocate for fighter rights, promote the benefits of combat sports training and improve safety standards.
“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,” said British former two-weight world champion Khan.
“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.”
Boxing and other combat sports remain among the only professional sectors with little regulation and no unionised representation, meaning fighters lack standard workplace benefits such as insurance and pensions as well as limited access to legal and health support.
The Global Fighters’ Union hopes to rectify that by achieving similar rights to bodies in other sports, and the PFA, which uses its broadcaster-funded subsidy on player welfare, grassroots development, education, and community initiatives, is seen as a model.
“We’ve spent 2024 laying the groundwork for the GFU to become a recognised trade union,” said Khan’s Global Fighters’ Union co-founder Paul Smith, a former British champion boxer and Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
“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 one 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.”
The Global Fighters’ Union’s “Fair Fight” mission aims to achieve “fair and transparent contracts, ensuring minimum pay guarantees, and advocating for equitable revenue sharing”.
Former trade union leader and Global Fighters’ Union co-founder Paul Moloney said: “The GFU will prioritise achieving parity for its members with regard to funding packages provided by other sporting rights owners to the trade unions representing their athletes.
“There is no place in modern sport for a landscape where workplace rights enjoyed by footballers and other sports people are denied to combat sports participants.”