The president of the Professional Football Players Union (SJPF), Joaquim Evangelista, was in the National Assembly and warned of the urgent need to combat illegal trafficking of footballers.

"This is a reality that concerns us all. The Union, the Federation, the League and the SEF should make the diagnosis and seek solutions to help eradicate this phenomenon", said Joaquim Evangelista in the Committee of Education, Science and Culture.

The SJPF President ensured that the Union "will do everything to identify those responsible for the trafficking of players in Portuguese football", adding that "we must blame those covenants with this situation."

"Intermediaries exploit families, creating expectations that go along clubs covenant with these acts, bear the burden of players in order to see if they have been successful or not and then abandon to their fate those who do not matter", denounced the leader of the Union.

Joaquim Evangelista recalled that this phenomenon of illegal trafficking of players comes associated with match-fixing: "There is a set of entities seeking these players, who because of their vulnerability can be involved in match-fixing."

To the Committee on Education, Science and Culture, Joaquim Evangelista called for greater accountability of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) for this, considering the changes to the regulations made by the FPF are "insufficient".