World governing body Fifa has struck a landmark deal with global players’ union Fifpro that means players will be represented when major decisions affecting the game are agreed.
Faced with a number of separate legal claims around player welfare, Fifa has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Fifpro, which it says “marks [a] paradigm shift in governance of professional football, with transfer system and player welfare standards”.
For the first time, Fifpro will have a veto over key areas of the game’s governance and also observer access, with speaking rights, at the powerful Fifa Council, the decision-making body of global football.
Fifa says it has struck the deal on the condition that all legal proceedings against it, initiated by Fifpro, are withdrawn.
In October 2024, Fifpro filed an “abuse of dominance” claim against Fifa around the overcrowded match calendar.
Earlier this week, former France midfielder Lassana Diarra reached a settlement, external in his damages claim, initially for 65 million euros (£56.1m), against Fifa and the Belgian Football Association after his contract was cancelled by Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow and he was subsequently denied a transfer to Charleroi in 2014.
One of the key elements of the agreement is that players will have greater protection from what are regarded as abusive practices, including forcing them to train on their own, withholding passports or abusing registration procedures.
In those circumstances, players will be able to cancel their contracts and still receive the payments they are due under those contracts, claim compensation for justifiable expenses and potentially demand an extra six months’ pay in damages.
Clubs that fail to respect their contractual obligations will face swifter and more effective sporting and financial consequences.
Fifpro president Sergio Marchi said: “This agreement represents an important step forward for football. Ensuring that players and their representatives have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their careers is not only beneficial for footballers, but for the game as a whole.”
Speaking at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City a day before the World Cup begins, Fifa president Gianno Infantino hailed the agreement.
“It’s about unity, about bringing everyone together,” he said.
“We’ve always been having dialogues. Now, sometimes you don’t agree, when you don’t agree, well, you can go and say it to everyone, or you can sit down and discuss and see what makes sense.
“So, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Fifpro, everything is agreed.”