Giani Infantino
World players’ union Fifpro has accused Fifa of undermining efforts to address growing concerns over player welfare by engaging with what it calls “fake” unions instead of recognised player representatives.
In a strongly worded statement, Fifpro — which represents more than 66,000 professional footballers globally — alleged that Fifa has been “creating Fifa-friendly organisations for consultation processes rather than engaging with the recognised football representative bodies.”
The union further claimed that the governing body has used “similar strategies with agents and fans,” describing it as a “concerning pattern.”
The accusations come after Fifa hosted a meeting on player welfare in Rabat, Morocco, over the weekend, where it announced several initiatives including the creation of a Professional Players Consultation Forum and new measures to improve player rest and recovery — such as enforcing a minimum 72-hour rest period between matches and 21 days of off-season recovery time.
Fif pro said it was not invited to the meeting, despite being the globally recognised body representing professional players.
Fifa, however, stated that the Rabat meeting was attended by representatives from 30 national player unions and members of its Players’ Voice Panel, an advisory group made up of former players. Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the governing body “remains committed to further enhancing player welfare and working conditions across the world.”
“We will continue to implement concrete and meaningful measures with a view to improving football for the future,” Infantino said.
Fifa also announced plans to establish a player welfare fund, though Fifpro noted that a similar fund had previously been created jointly by both organisations before Fifa scrapped it in 2022.
Maheta Molango, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) in England and Wales, criticised Fifa’s approach, saying it was “sad news” that the world governing body appeared to be bypassing legitimate unions.
“Instead of engaging with the people elected to be the voice of the players, they’ve decided to pick who they want to sit at the table with,” Molango told BBC Radio 5 Live. “They don’t engage with us. It looks like they’ve found new people to talk to who are not recognised unions.”
The Rabat conference followed a similar meeting held in New York in July, also focused on player welfare — and once again, Fifpro was not invited.
That meeting coincided with the Club World Cup final, a tournament recently expanded by Fifa from seven teams to 32, a move Fifpro has criticised for adding further congestion to an already packed football calendar.
Fifpro filed legal action against Fifa last month, arguing that the relentless scheduling of fixtures poses serious risks to players’ health and wellbeing.
The issue of overexertion has gained traction in recent years, with players like Manchester City’s Rodri warning last season that footballers were “close to striking” due to the increasing workload — a statement made just a week before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.