Players fear consequences of speaking out – Fifpro

World players’ union Fifpro claims that top players feel unable to speak out despite Fifa ignoring their “basic needs.”

66, 000 men’s and women’s players from around the world are represented by Fifpro, which is led by general secretary Alex Phillips, and they are concerned about potential backlash from clubs and governing bodies.

Due to the number of games they play, and especially given the expanded Club World Cup this year, players have voiced concerns with Fifpro about their lack of rest.

Chelsea won their final game of the season on July 13 with a victory in the Club World Cup final, which came just 35 days before Crystal Palace’s Premier League opener.

Because they lack the power, “players are wary of speaking up,” Philips said.

They may have wealth, or the top 1%, but 99% of players don’t have power outside of their union or association, according to Wikipedia.

One of the top stars said, “I only get a rest when I get injured, and I was speaking with some of the top players before the Club World Cup, and they claimed they hadn’t had a rest for “X” of time.” Others were cynical and resigned.

Then, two weeks later, you witness some of the same players recording social media videos saying, “We think the Club World Cup is fantastic,” as their employers direct them to do, which they do as part of their jobs.

You’ve got this contradictory situation where players are unable to speak up. They are in a vicious position. They may be speaking up, but it might have consequences.

Fifa responded by saying it was “extremely disappointed by the Fifpro leadership’s increasingly divisive and contradictory tone.”

Unity, not division, is what the game needs. Players should speak for themselves, not just say that, “it added in a statement.

Fifpro also thinks that Fifa, the world’s top governing body, has adopted an “autocratic” approach to running the sport under president Gianni Infantino and is “turning a blind eye” to the needs of players.

Following a meeting of 58 player unions in Amsterdam on Friday, Fifa continued to systematically ignore and silence the real issues players faced in various parts of the world.

It is unacceptable for a group that claims global leadership to ignore the players’ fundamental needs.

The recent Club World Cup, which president Infantino celebrated despite being held in conditions that were extreme and inappropriate for any human being, demonstrates a troubling insensitivity toward human rights, even when it concerns elite athletes.

After attending Fifa’s summit in New York earlier this month, the player unions of Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, and Kyrgyzstan were not given a chance to attend the meeting in the Netherlands.

Fifa said at the meeting that it had “addressed key issues regarding player health,” including “critical matters related to the international match calendar.”

Fifpro was not invited to the meeting, which was held last year when Fifa sued Fifa for damages.

Phillips argued that “almost everyone interpreted this meeting and the photo of the attendees as an attack on Fifpro.” It is obvious that this is an attempt to fix a flaw in Fifpro.