The global football players’ union has hit back at FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino, saying their autocratic style of leadership was harming the rights of its members.
“Football needs responsible leadership, not emperors,” the FIFPRO network said on Friday after a meeting of 58 national player unions responded to FIFA pursuing its agenda with unofficial player representatives.
“It needs fewer autocratic monologues and more genuine, inclusive and transparent dialogue,” the union added.
FIFA announced two weeks ago that it reached a consensus on key issues after Infantino hosted a group of mostly non-recognised officials in New York before the Club World Cup final.
The latest rift between football’s governing body and its players’ unions flared while the European Commission in Brussels is considering a formal complaint against FIFA. It was filed by FIFPRO’s European division and national leagues in Europe against FIFA’s style of governance and decision-making.
FIFPRO said FIFA’s core agenda included an overloaded global match calendar with too many games for elite players, a lack of physical and mental recovery periods and extreme playing conditions.
Players at the monthlong Club World Cup in the United States, who played in the heat of daytime games to appeal to worldwide TV audiences, reported feeling dizzy and unwell.
The 63-game tournament backed by Saudi Arabian money was lucrative for clubs, especially in Europe, though FIFA added it to the schedule without formally consulting players.
The tournament, FIFPRO said, was “celebrated by President Infantino despite being held under conditions that were extreme and inappropriate for any human being, demonstrating a troubling insensitivity to human rights, even when it concerns elite athletes.
“FIFPRO reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of men and women players – rights which are being seriously undermined by commercial policies imposed by its autocratic system of governance,” the Netherlands-based union said of FIFA.
“This is a model that puts the health of players at risk and sidelines those at the heart of the game,” FIFPRO said, adding it was “unacceptable for an organization that claims global leadership to turn a blind eye to the basic needs of the players”.
In response, FIFA, in a press release issued on Friday, said it is “extremely disappointed by the increasingly divisive and contradictory tone adopted by FIFPRO leadership.”
FIFA reiterated a call for dialogue with legitimate bodies that put player welfare first, as per the release.
FIFPRO has not had a formal working agreement with FIFA since the previous one expired in 2023.
