Stop being selfish, FIFA tells world players body, gives FIFPRO last chance for dialogue

• FIFA recently announced a set of measures to support players following consultation with multiple players unions
• FIFPRO requested to publish statutes and annual financial reports in line with standard sports governance practices
• FIFA intends to move forward together with players and those who really want the best for football

FIFA is extremely disappointed by the increasingly divisive and contradictory tone adopted by FIFPRO leadership as this approach clearly shows that rather than engaging in constructive dialogue, FIFPRO has chosen to pursue a path of public confrontation driven by artificial PR battles – which have nothing to do with protecting the welfare of professional players but rather aim to preserve their own personal positions and interests.

The global football community deserves better. Players deserve better.

On Saturday, 12 July 2025, following a protracted period of unsuccessful efforts to bring FIFPRO to the table in an environment of non-hostility and respectful, progressive dialogue, FIFA convened with multiple player unions in New York, United States, to announce and reaffirm concrete, progressive measures designed specifically to protect the physical and mental wellbeing of players worldwide, including:

• mandatory minimum 72 hours of rest between matches
• mandatory rest period / holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season
• provisions that in future discussions for the international match calendar, player travel – especially long-haul intercontinental trips – and the climatic conditions under which matches are played, should be considered when defining policies
• the representation of players and player unions in FIFA’s standing committees and in the FIFA Football Tribunal
• the potential participation of player and player unions in FIFA Council meetings when players’ matters are addressed
• the creation of an open, global and consultative player representatives FIFA panel
• further reform of the transfer system and its related regulations (e.g. Training compensation, trial of young players, etc.)
• further development and growth of women’s football
• cooperation in establishing collective agreements to improve player conditions
• timely payment of player salaries and the further development of the FIFA Fund for Professional Players
• the development of training and education programmes for youth and professional players, and
• the establishment of essential safeguards to protect players in areas such as equality, discrimination, and harassment.

These concrete measures go beyond what FIFPRO has been pretending to be asking for, and FIFA is extremely surprised by their leadership’s reaction.

Instead of welcoming these unprecedent announcements that benefit players all around the world, FIFPRO has responded with a series of personal and disrespectful attacks.

This approach reveals a lot about FIFPRO priorities. It suggests that their leadership does not really care about the players, but rather about internal political fights and their image. FIFA’s proposed reforms are about impacting genuine change to support players and are far more important than preserving FIFPRO’s perceived image.

FIFPRO, regrettably, has consistently refused to engage constructively in these efforts. Instead of contributing meaningfully, they have opted for theatrical denunciations, prioritising media headlines over measurable progress for the players they claim to represent.

Recently FIFA has taken numerous wide-ranging measures across football to better support players, such as:

• the introduction of five substitutions
• the introduction of concussion substitutes
• the establishment of an in-game and return-to-play concussion protocol
• the creation of a new team and player distribution model for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2023
• the implementation of equal conditions for players in the FIFA World Cup™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup
• the introduction of guaranteed minimum player payments for every single player competing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup
• the publication of parental leave regulations to protect women players
• the establishment of the FIFA Fund for Players (more than USD 16 million provided by FIFA to players who were not paid by their clubs)
• the statutory inclusion in FIFA Member Associations for representation and participation of players in governance structures at domestic level
• the launch and implementation of a anti-racism protocols and measures to protect players globally
• the launch of the FIFA Social Media Protection Service, and
• the establishment of the Player’s Voice Panel as part of the Global Stand Against Racism.

These are not vague promises or grandstanding but are real and tangible actions.

As FIFPRO is interested in addressing matters such as good governance, maybe they would want to consider publishing their own statutes and releasing transparent annual accounts, to ensure that what is being preached is also being practiced. Let us be clear: you cannot preach transparency while operating in opacity.

The reality is this: FIFA remains firmly committed to placing players at the core of football’s future, not just in words, but through concrete regulation and reform. FIFA invites all genuine representatives of players to join us in that work – not by attacking from the sidelines, but by participating in transparent, solution-focused dialogue.

Therefore, FIFA invites FIFPRO to return to the negotiating table, once they have stopped their blackmail and withdrawn their complaints, and once they have published their statutes, ⁠their full financial reports (including all their sources of income, the detailed intellectual property rights of the players they claim to own, and the funding one of their regional divisions receives from some football organisations), and ⁠the full list of individual members they claim to represent.

The game deserves unity, not division. Players deserve action, not rhetoric.

FIFA will move forward together with players and those who really want the best for football. It is up to FIFPRO to answer this call.