By Lori Ewing
(Reuters) – Global soccer players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum have launched three new labour initiatives, they announced on Friday, to strengthen and protect playing conditions as part of the Global Labour Agreement.
The news comes amid concerns around increases in player workload, and ahead of the expansion of the 2026 World Cup from 32 to 48 teams and the Champions League from 32 clubs to 36 in the 2024-25 season, and 32-team Club World Cup in 2025.
The three initiatives will tackle workplace safety; health and fair-play management to address challenges on how the laws of the game affect the overall experience; discriminatory incidents in matches.
Committees, featuring an equal number of representatives nominated by the WLF and FIFPRO, will be appointed for all three.
“The new labour initiatives represent our joint commitment to address the development of our competitions and employment conditions through collective dialogue,” FIFPRO president David Aganzo said in a statement.
“The new working structures are marking a start and we are eager to address other issues that are relevant for the growth of leagues and players together.”
In September of 2022, the WLF, which represents professional soccer leagues across the world, and FIFPRO signed the GLA, an international bargaining framework that follows the fundamental principles and rights at work.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
