The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (), generally referred to as FIFPRO, is the worldwide representative organisation for 70,000 professional footballers. FIFPRO, with its global headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, is made up of 70 national players' associations. In addition, there are four candidate members.
History On 15 December 1965, representatives of the French, Scottish, English, Italian and Dutch players' associations met in Paris, with the objective of setting up an international federation for footballers. In the second half of June 1966, the first FIFPRO congress took place in London, just before the start of the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The articles of association of FIFPRO were thereby adopted and the objectives accurately laid down. FIFPRO was responsible for increasing the solidarity between professional footballers and players' associations.
It was originally laid down that a congress would be held once every four years at a minimum. The latest congress was in Uruguay in October 2022.
FIFPRO has grown from a European organisation into a global network and has done much to support countries on other continents – Asia/Oceania, Africa, and North, Central and South America – in their efforts to set up players' associations.
FIFPRO tried to offer the players' associations or other interest associations the means for mutual consultation and co-operation to achieve their objectives. In addition, it wished to co-ordinate the activities of the different affiliated groups in order to promote the interests of all professional footballers. Indeed, FIFPRO likewise had in mind propagating and defending the rights of professional footballers. The emphasis was thereby laid on the freedom of the football player to be able to choose the club of his choice at the end of his contract. FIFPRO supported Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman in his judicial challenge of the football transfer rules which led to the Bosman ruling in 1995.
In 2013, FIFPRO launched a legal challenge against the transfer system. Phillipe Piat, the FIFPRO president at the time, said "the transfer system fails 99% of players around the world, it fails football as an industry and it fails the world's most beloved game". According to the President of FIFPRO Division Europe Bobby Barnes, 28% of the money from a transfer fee is paid to agents, and many players are not paid on time or at all. He claims this leads to these players being "vulnerable targets of crime syndicates, who instigate match-fixing and threaten the very existence of credible football competitions". Writing for the BBC, Matt Slater said "professional footballers do not enjoy the same freedoms that almost every other EU worker does", and that "players look at US sport, and wonder why their career prospects are still constrained by transfer fees and compensation costs".
In recent years, FIFPRO has established itself as a leading reference in the football industry through player surveys and research into concussion, mental health, social media abuse, player workload monitoring, and more.
FIFPRO looks into securing a safe workspace for players, promoting their rights as ordinary workers. FIFPRO introduced new regulations to protect the rights of current and prospective mothers. These minimum conditions, agreed upon by FIFA and other governing bodies, offer women more job security and came into effect on 1 January 2021.
In the last five years, FIFPRO has repeatedly intervened to protect and enforce the rights of players to participate in an environment free from sexual misconduct, harassment, and abuse. FIFPRO is a firm advocate of ensuring that all people, including players, should be guaranteed and protected by human rights. In 2021, FIFPRO played an active role in the group evacuation of women's footballers and athletes from Afghanistan.
Current board
FIFPRO’s member unions in June 2024 approved by an overwhelming majority governance recommendations to enhance the global representation of professional footballers following a review by management consultancy Oliver Wyman. An interim global board was elected, who will serve until November 2024 when a 12-person board will be elected at a General Assembly.
Interim Board: Magnus Erlingmark (Sweden), Joaquim Evangelista (Portugal), Sergio Marchi (Argentina), Maheta Molango (Italy, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers' Association for England), Geremi Njitap (Cameroon), Fernando Revilla (Peru), Stefano Sartori (Italy), Karin Sendel (Israel), Alejandro Sequeira (Costa Rica), David Terrier (France), Fraser Wishart (Scotland), Takuya Yamazaki (Japan).
Secretary General: Stéphane Burchkalter
List of chairs President Country Term Bobby Charlton England 1966–? Gordon Taylor England 1994–2005 Theo van Seggelen Netherlands 2005–2019 France 2019–2024 Sergio Marchi Argentina 2024–present
Members Founded on 15 December 1965, FIFPRO has 70 full members. Upon graduation to the next level, new members sign an affiliation agreement that promotes loyalty, integrity and fairness as well as principles of good governance, including open and transparent communications, democratic processes, checks and balances, solidarity and corporate social responsibility. Notably, two of the most preeminent nations in world football, Brazil and Germany, are not members of the FIFPRO.
Full members Country Association name Member FIFPRO Argentina (FAA) 2019 Australia Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) 1999 Austria (VdF) 2019 Belgium United Athletes (UA) 1992 Bolivia Federación Sindical de Futbolistas Profesionales de Bolivia (FABOL) 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sindikat Profesionalnih Fudbalera u Bosni i Hercegovini (SPFBiH) 2020 Botswana Footballers Union of Botswana (FUB) 2016 Bulgaria Association of Bulgarian Footballers (ABF) 2008 Canada Professional Footballers Association Canada (PFACan) 2022 Cameroon Syndicat National des Footballeurs Camerounais (SYNAFOC) 2001 Chile (SIFUP) 2005 Colombia Asociación Colombiana de Futbolistas Profesionales (ACOLFUTPRO) 2007 Congo, Democratic Republic of Union des Footballeurs du Congo (UFC) 2010 Costa Rica Asociacion de Jugadores Profesionales (ASOJUPRO) 2011 Croatia Hrvatska Udruga Nogometni Sindikat (HUNS) 2012 Cyprus Pancyprian Footballers Association (PASP) 2005 Czechia (Czech Republic) (ČAFH) 2012 Denmark Spillerforeningen 1993 Egypt Egyptian Professional Footballers Association (EPFA) 2002 England & Wales Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) 1965 Finland (JPY) 2001 France Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) 1965 Gabon Association Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels du Gabon (ANFPG) 2017 Ghana Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) 2013 Greece Panhellenic Professional Football Players Association (PSAPP) 1977 Guatemala Sindicato de Futbolistas Profesionales de Guatemala (SIFUPGUA) 2014 Honduras Asociación de Futbolistas de Honduras (AFHO) 2017 Hungary (HLSZ) 1996 Iceland Leikmannasamtök Íslands / Icelandic PFA (IPFA) 2018 Indonesia Asosiasi Pesepakbola Profesional Indonesia (APPI) 2009 India Football Players' Association of India (FPAI) 2009 Ireland Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland (PFAI) 1996 Israel Israel Football Players Organization (IFPO) 2016 Italy Associazione Italiana Calciatori (AIC) 1968 Japan Japan Pro-footballers Association (JPFA) 2000 Kenya Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA) 2018 Korea, Republic of (South Korea) Korea Pro-Footballer's Association (KPFA) 2019 Kyrgyzstan Association of Professional Football Players of the Kyrgyz Republic (APFKR) 2022 Malaysia Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) 2019 Malta Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) 2014 Montenegro Sindikat Profesionalnih Fudbalera Crne Gore (SPFCG) 2012 Morocco (UMFP) 2019 Netherlands Vereniging van Contractspelers (VVCS) 1965 New Zealand New Zealand Professional Footballers' Association (NZPFA) 2004 North Macedonia Sindikat na fudbaleri na Makedonija (SFM) 2017 Norway Norske Idrettsutøveres Sentralorganisasjon (NISO) 2019 Panama Asociación de Futbolistas de Panamá (AFUTPA) 2018 Paraguay Futbolistas Asociados del Paraguay (FAP) 2013 Peru (SAFAP) 2002 Poland (PZP) Portugal Sindicato dos Jogadores Profissionais de Futebol (SJPF) 1985 Qatar Qatar Players Association (QPA) 2018 Romania Asociatia Fotbalistilor Amatori si Nonamatori (AFAN) 1998 Scotland Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland) 1965 Serbia Sindikat Profesionalnih Fudbalera Nezavisnost (SPFN) 2009 Slovakia Únia Futbalových Profesionálov (UFP) 2021 Slovenia Sindikat Profesionalnih Igralcev Nogometa Slovenije (SPINS) 2005 South Africa South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) 2002 Sweden - Svenska Fotbollsspelare (SFS) 1990 Switzerland Swiss Association of Football Players (SAFP) 2002 Türkiye (Turkey) (TPFD) 2019 Ukraine All-Ukrainian Association of Professional Football Players (AUAPFP) 2014 United States of America Major League Soccer Players Association (MLS Players Association) 2006 Uruguay (MUFP) 2019 Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Footballers Union (UFU) 2023 Venezuela Asociación Única de Futbolistas Profesionales de Venezuela (AUFPV) 2014 Zambia Footballers and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (FAWUZ) 2019 Zimbabwe Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ) 2010
FIFPRO World 11
The FIFPRO World 11 are the best men's and women's teams of the year. FIFPRO invites all professional men's and women's footballers to compose the teams. Initially known as the FIFPRO World 11, the award began in 2005 and celebrated the best football players as voted by their peers. In 2009, FIFPRO partnered with FIFA, rebranding it as the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 while retaining its original format. From the 2024 edition onward, FIFPRO will independently manage the award, reverting to its original name, the FIFPRO World 11. Lionel Messi has the most ever appearances in the FIFPRO World 11 with 17 overall, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 15.
FIFPRO Player of the Season (2005–2008)
YearPlayerClubRef.2005 Ronaldinho Barcelona2006 Ronaldinho Barcelona2007 Kaká Milan2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
FIFPRO granted this award from 2005 to 2008; in 2009 it merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was succeeded by the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and later The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2016.
FIFPRO Young Player of the Year (2005–2008) YearPlayerClubRef.2005 Wayne Rooney Manchester United2006 Lionel Messi Barcelona2007 Lionel Messi Barcelona2008 Lionel Messi Barcelona
FIFPRO granted this award from 2005 to 2008, after which it was discontinued.
Social impact awards FIFPRO Merit Awards
In 2008 FIFPRO established its Merit Award, to recognise professional footballers who have made a significant contribution to a charitable cause and are socially engaged. It honours players who use their platform to take action to improve the lives of people in need. The award is worth US$25,000 (as of 2018). Winners of the FIPRO Merit Award include: 2008 – Ibrahim Kargbo (Sierra Leone), ambassador of the Care Foundation in Sierra Leone 2009 – Shabani Nonda (DR Congo), for his foundation that organised annual football tournaments for 350 poor children in Kinshasa, and for his payment of school supplies and school fees, and for organising a Match for Peace (featuring other DR Congo players) to raise funds for victims of violence 2010 – Steven Bryce and Reynaldo Parks (Costa Rica), for their project to help children and young people in deprived neighbourhoods 2011 – Peres Center for Peace (Israel), for its Twinned Peace Sport Schools project, which annually engages thousands of children from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and promotes peace between Israelis and Palestinians 2012 – Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA), for their charity work for the victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami 2013 – Stiliyan Petrov (Bulgaria), for his leukaemia foundation