FIFA and the FIFPRO players’ union said Wednesday they have agreed to a landmark cooperation agreement for major decisions including transfer rules and health and safety standards.
The agreement on a memorandum of understanding, which FIFA called “historic,” was announced on the eve of the World Cup opener. It comes 10 months after the European Court of Justice ruled some decisions by international governing bodies, such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, can be challenged outside Switzerland.
The announcement also comes less than two months after a new international group representing soccer players — the Association of International Footballers, or AIF — was founded in Madrid in April to rival FIFPRO.
As part of the new agreement, FIFPRO was recognized by FIFA as the global representative for professional soccer players and lawsuits against FIFA will be dropped by FIFPRO, its division and member unions.
“This MoU marks a new era in FIFA’s relationship with FIFPRO,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “Players shape the game we all love, and we must ensure their protection and well-being. That is why we have jointly created a sustainable pathway to ensure that decisions directly affecting them are based on a collective process anchored in social dialogue.”
The agreement was announced two days after FIFA said it reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed against it by former France midfielder Lassana Diarra in a case caused by the player missing the 2014-15 season in a dispute with Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow and FIFA.
The FIFA-FIFPRO deal, which runs through 2031, means that players, governing bodies, leagues and clubs will have to jointly agree on future decisions.
A Global Social Dialogue Platform will be established and chaired by FIFA to discuss rules on the transfer system and regulatory matters, as well as player welfare and occupational safety and health standards, including player rest and recovery, vacation, mandatory rest periods and retraining. Future changes will be subject to collective agreement. The platform will include representatives of the World Leagues Association and European Football Clubs.
FIFPRO will appoint representatives to FIFA’s Football Tribunal, judicial bodies and several committees, while the union will have a non-voting observer on the FIFA Council. The parties will establish a minimum standards framework for women’s national teams and work on allocation of prize money from FIFA senior competitions.
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