This Day in History: 2022-10-25

Nr. 329

THE TREATY OF ROME (1957)

The European Economic Community (EEC) was created when six nations – France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg – signed the Treaty of Rome in March 1957. Britain didn’t join the EEC until January 1973, but the Treaty aimed to encourage freedom of movement of labour across Europe’s borders and more footballers did move across the continent to play for foreign clubs. However, the Treaty’s major influence on football came nearly four decades later when the Belgian footballer Jean­-Mare Bosman successfully argued that football was contravening it by not allowing players freedom of movement after their contracts had expired.

The signing of the Treaty of Rome which created the European Economic Community, forerunner of today’s European Union.