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US labor board quashes college sport union bid

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The NCAA, which governs the popular and lucrative world of US university sports, has long held that "student athletes" are not university employees but students whose participation in sports is part of their education (AFP Photo/Streeter Lecka)

Washington (AFP) - US authorities on Monday dismissed a bid by American football players at Northwestern University who had been seeking to form a union, overturning an earlier ruling which could have revolutionized college sports.

The National Labor Relations Board said in a statement it had declined to assert jurisdiction in the case, effectively meaning that National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes would continue to be classified as college students instead of employees.