| FIFPro | |
|---|---|
FIFPro logo |
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| Formation | 1965 |
| Location | Hoofddorp, Netherlands |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 43 members |
| Official languages | English |
| Chairman | Leonardo Grosso |
| Website | http://www.fifpro.org |
The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (English - International Federation of Professional Footballers), usually known by the abbreviation FIFPro, is a worldwide representative organization for professional football players. At the moment there are 43 national players associations who are members of FIFPro. There are 8 candidate members and 5 observers.
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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 World Championship. The articles of association of FIFPro were thereby adopted and the objectives accurately laid down. FIFPro was responsible for increasing the solidarity between professional football players and 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 football players. Indeed, FIFPro likewise had in mind propagating and defending the rights of professional football players. 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. It was likewise laid down that FIFPro would be helpful in every required area for setting up interest associations. These are objectives which still apply to this day.
It was originally laid down that a congress would be held once every four years at a minimum - prior to the World Championship. The congress had to uphold the course set out and with a two-third majority vote. The congress is still the most important organ of FIFPro to this very day.
It soon appeared that it was necessary to organize a congress annually, and not to limit this to once every four years. Many congresses have been held in the meantime, such as for example in 1978 in Madrid and in 1979 in Athens and Venice. In the eighties and nineties many memorable congresses have been organized in almost all the large European cities, such as Paris, Athens, Milan, Manchester, Zurich, Ghent, Lisbon, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Rome, Johannesburg, Barcelona, Santiago and Budapest. The latest congress was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2010.
The objectives of FIFPro also mean that not only FIFA applied as a talking partner. UEFA in particular, but also the European parliament and the European Commission appeared to be important points of approach. The national federations also started to become increasingly aware that, in addition to the national players' association, the international trade union FIFPro also played its role.
In recent years FIFPro has grown from a European organization into a global network. The FIFPro has done much to support countries on other continents - Asia/Oceania, Africa and South America – in their efforts to set up players’ associations. In November 2010, FIFPro welcomed the footballers’ associations of DR Congo and Ivory Coast as its newest members; members 42 and 43.
Current: FIFPro Board
President: Leonardo Grosso (AIC, Italy)
General-Secretary: Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands)
Vice-presidents: Philippe Piat (UNFP, France)
Board members Bobby Barnes (PAA, England), Louis Everard (VVCS, The Netherlands), Rinaldo Martorelli (Fenapaf/Sapesp, Brazil), David Mayébi, (AFC, Cameroon), Mads Øland, (Spillerforeningen, Denmark), Fernando Revilla (SAFAP, Peru), Luis Rubiales (AFE, Spain), Brendan Schwab (PFA, Australia), Dejan Stefanovic (SPINS, Slovenia)
Secretary to the FIFPro board: Frederique Winia (Netherlands)
FIFPro has adopted its mission and its mission statement. To create its vision for the future, FIFPro at first had to define where it stands for, who it is and what it wants to achieve. In the end it has adopted its mission and its mission statement.
These are:
Mission: FIFPro supports players
Mission statement: FIFPro is the exclusive collective international voice of the world’s professional footballers
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Each year FIFPro invites all professional footballers in the world to compose their best team of the year.
FIFPro has organized the vote for the World XI since 2005. Every year the world players' union, with the help from all of its associations, distributes more than 55,000 ballots all over the world. One ballot for each professional footballer, regardless where he is playing: Australia, Brazil, China, South Africa, Spain or the United States of America. Every player is requested to pick one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three strikers. The result of this immense election is the FIFPro World XI.
In 2009 the world players' union joined hands with FIFA. The team name has changed into the FIFA FIFPro World XI. Each year the eleven players from this elite squad will receive their awards during the FIFA World Player Gala.
FIFPro and FIFA might cooperate, but the procedure remains the same: it’s the professional footballers who chose the World XI. FIFPro is responsible for the organization of the election.
From 2005 until 2008, FIFPro also asked the footballers to choose the Player of the Year. From 2009 on, the election for FIFPro Player of the Year has merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year and France Football’s Ballon d’Or into one grand election for the Best Footballer of the Year.
The player with the most appearances in the team is John Terry having appeared five times. Second are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (four times). They are followed by several players with three appearances: Carles Puyol, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Steven Gerrard, Iker Casillas, and Kaká.
The team with the most player appearances is Barcelona with an impressive 21, almost a third of the total appearances. The rest come from Milan (9), Real Madrid (9), Chelsea (8), Manchester United (7), Juventus (5), Liverpool (5), Internazionale (3) and Arsenal (1).
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Barcelona |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid |
| 2007 | Kaká | Milan |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |