April 7 – FIFA has allocated a further $3 million from its fund to support professional players who have not been paid by their clubs and have no chance of receiving the salaries agreed with those clubs.
The money will support 140 players and relates to the period from July to December 2020.
“The FIFA Fund for Football Players is making a significant impact in terms of ensuring the protection of players in need. Together with FIFPRO, we look forward to entering the second half of this landmark initiative, which is providing essential support to football’s main actors,” said Emilio García Silvero, FIFA Chief Legal & Compliance Officer.
In 2020, FIFA created the Fund for Football Players following a recommendation from the FIFA-FIFPRO Steering Committee. More than 1,000 players have now received support from the fund which has been allocated $16 million, broken down as below:
- 1 July 2015 – 30 June 2020: $5 million
- 1 July 2020 – 31 December 2020: $3 million
- 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021: $4 million
- 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022: $4 million
FIFA said the latest applications for financial support “relate to 39 clubs from 22 member associations and were received as a result of clubs going out of business due to insolvency proceedings, being disaffiliated from their respective member association or ceasing to participate in professional football altogether.”
Garcia Silvero said that “parallel to this initiative, we have been making concrete steps in recent years towards further improving our legal framework, precisely in order to deal with the non-payment of players’ wages.”
The importance of the fund to players in countries where there is insufficient salary protection mechanisms at domestic level was emphasised by Roy Vermeer, FIFPRO Legal Director.
“It is incredibly difficult for players to deal with a situation in which they know they are entitled to their wages but are deprived of their payment. It is even more trying when this is because of irresponsible club management. FIFA’s agreement to establish this fund has been a game changer for many players and should serve as a blueprint for other football governing bodies at both national and continental levels,” said Vermeer.
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