FIFPro
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| FIFPro | |
|---|---|
 FIFPro logo |
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| Formation | 1965 |
| Location | Hoofddorp, Netherlands |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 49 members |
| Official languages | English, French, Spanish |
| President | 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 49 national players associations who are members of FIFPro. There are 6 candidate members.
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Brief history [edit]
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 October 2012, FIFPro welcomed the footballers’ associations of Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro and Ukraine as its newest members.
The Board [edit]
Current: FIFPro Board
President: Leonardo Grosso (AIC, Italy)
General-Secretary: Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands)
Vice-president: Philippe Piat (UNFP, France)
Board members Bobby Barnes (PAA, England), Louis Everard (VVCS, 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)
In 1998 for the first time in FIFPro history a board member was elected by the General Assembly.
Mission statement [edit]
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
Members [edit]
Full members [edit]
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Candidate members [edit]
Ecuador
Ghana
Malaysia
Paraguay
Zimbabwe
Observer members [edit]
Botswana
China PR
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Guatemala
Venezuela
FIFPro World XI [edit]
Each year FIFPro invites all professional footballers in the world to compose the best team of the year since 2005. Every player is requested to pick one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three strikers.
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.
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 merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year and France Football’s Ballon d’Or into one election.
Appearance records [edit]
The players with the most appearances in the team are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, each having appeared six times. Next are John Terry, Iker Casillas and Xavi (five times) and Andrés Iniesta (four times). They are followed by several players with three appearances: Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Ronaldinho, Steven Gerrard, and Kaká.
The team with the most player appearances is Barcelona with 32. The rest come from Real Madrid (19), Milan (10), Manchester United and Chelsea (8 each), Juventus and Liverpool (5 each), Internazionale (3) and Valencia, Atlético Madrid and Arsenal (1 each).
The country with the most player appearances is Spain with 28, followed by Brazil (14), England (11), Italy (9), Argentina, France and Portugal (6 each), Cameroon and Serbia (2 each) and Colombia, Ivory Coast, Netherlands and Ukraine (1 each).
World Player of the Year [edit]
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 |  Ronaldinho |
 Barcelona |
| 2006 | Ronaldinho |
Barcelona |
| 2007 | Kaká |
 Milan |
| 2008 |  Cristiano Ronaldo |
 Manchester United |
- FIFPro granted this award between 2005–2008, in 2009 merged with FIFA Player of the Year (converted to FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010).
