FIFA and FIFPRO, the global footballers union, have signed the foundational agreement of the FIFA Fund for Footballers (FIFA FFP), which aims to offer financial assistance to players to whom clubs owe contractual compensation and who do not have the opportunity to get to perceive them.
To this end, FIFA has provided an endowment of almost 15 million euros (14.7) to be used as follows: 2.75 million in 2020, 3.67 2021 and 3.67 in 2022, in addition to others 4.59 intended to offer a retroactive salary guarantee for the period between July 2015 and June 2020, according to the agency in a statement.
In 2019, FIFA revised its Disciplinary Code, in which it established the framework to address this type of debts contracted with soccer players, particularly in the case of the so-called 'sports successors' of debtor clubs, that is, new clubs founded with The main purpose of avoiding paying outstanding salaries.
The agreement provides for the establishment of a monitoring committee formed by representatives of FIFA and FIFPRO to process, evaluate and act upon requests for financial assistance from FIFA FFP. Although these grants will not serve to fully cover the amounts due, they will be a protection mechanism for footballers.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was satisfied after signing the document. “This agreement and our commitment to help players in a difficult situation demonstrate how we understand our role as the governing body of world football. Helping those who need it most, especially members of the football community, is our obligation, and we must start with the players, the main engine of our sport, “he said.
“In the last five years more than 50 clubs have left hundreds of players in uncertainty and precariousness”
For his part, the president of FIFPRO, Philippe Piat, recalled that “in the last five years more than 50 clubs from 20 countries have closed their doors, plunging hundreds of players into uncertainty and precariousness.”
“This fund will offer very valuable support to the most needy players and their families. Many of these clubs closed to avoid paying outstanding salaries, and were transformed into supposedly new clubs. FIFPRO has been fighting this unscrupulous practice for some time, and we wish to thank FIFA for fighting it in its Disciplinary Code, “he said.
