FIFPRO Excluded from Key Meeting between FIFA and Player Groups
The world football players’ union, FIFPRO, was not invited to a summit in New York between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and player groups, according to sources. This comes after FIFA’s announcement of an alleged “consensus” reached regarding the rest and well-being of the players.
FIFA issued a statement on Sunday morning, stating that “key issues relating to player welfare” had been addressed and that an agreement had been reached on mandatory rest periods.
However, sources indicate that FIFPRO, which represents 66,000 players worldwide, and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) based in the United Kingdom, were not present at the meeting nor did they participate in the discussions.
FIFPRO has urged FIFA to more actively involve player unions when adding events to the calendar, especially the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup to be held in the United States this summer.FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has received criticism for the introduction of the Club World Cup.
FIFPRO Europe and a group of European leagues filed a legal complaint with the European Union in June 2024, accusing FIFA of abusing its dominant position in football and violating European competition law by expanding the international match calendar without proper consultation. A verdict has not yet been reached.
Sources indicate that among the players’ representatives at the meeting with Infantino were officials from national unions whose organizations have been expelled from FIFPRO or who have lost their position in FIFPRO after a democratic process.
It has been reported that the main representatives of the players consider FIFA’s statement to be “deeply flawed” and that none of the agreements reached are legally binding.
FIFA was contacted for a response.
