Global initiative aims to promote a more sustainable and inclusive vision for football
Zurich, 13 January 2016
FIFPro, the union which represents 65,000 professional footballers around the world, today launches #GameChangers, an initiative aimed at promoting dialogue on a new and more sustainable vision for the game.
The scheme, backed by FIFPro’s member unions worldwide, seeks to address the governance crisis which has undermined the image of professional football.
Despite years of huge revenue growth in the game, the sporting and financial gulf between the richest and poorest clubs and leagues continues to grow. At the same time, the development of balanced and effective standards of governance in the game has not kept pace with the speed of economic progress.
Twenty years on from the Bosman ruling, FIFPro is committed to tackling the inequalities and injustices that too many players face on a daily basis.
Dr Lucien Valloni, President of SAFP, said: “It is not fair that a player can be faced with multi million damage requests by a club in case of breach of contract whereas the club who breaches the very same contract will probably have to pay nothing to the player. It is time for change to an equal system of compensation in case of breach of contract.”
Theo van Seggelen, Secretary-General of FIFPro, said: “Today our industry is faced with inadequate governance structures which have allowed abusive commercial practices to flourish and failed to protect and be accountable to players, clubs and fans. It is time for change.”
The failings of the current transfer system are the latest symptom of the mismanagement of football by the sport’s ruling bodies. The transfer system fails in its objective to redistribute income throughout the football pyramid and encourages financial speculation that overlooks the rights of players. It also leads to damaging side-effects, from third-party ownership of players and trafficking of minors, to speculative buy-outs of clubs to profit from transfer fees.
#GameChangers aims to help players, clubs, fans and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable game for all. “For far too long, FIFA, national associations and clubs have ignored all these concerns. #GameChangers is a turning point. It is time for us to act decisively and work together with all stakeholders in developing a bold vision for the future of the game, based on collective agreements between players and the sport’s administrators. We need a system that is fairer and which meets the modern needs of the football industry,” added Theo van Seggelen.
The launch of the #GameChangers initiative is a result of a thorough analysis of the many problems football has faced for years and the industry’s lack of progress in tackling the cause of these problems.
For more information on the #GameChangers initiative, please click here.
FIFPro contact:
Andrew Orsatti – a.orsatti@fifpro.org
About FIFPro
FIFPro is the worldwide representative organisation for all professional footballers;
more than 65,000 players in total, male and female. The World Players’ Union
currently has 58 national players’ associations as their members.
SAFP contact:
Antonio Iacovazzo – iacovazzo@safp.ch