FIFPro Opinion: Respect of contracts

FIFPro is extremely concerned about the large number of players who are not receiving their salary, even though that salary is stipulated in a contract. The World Players’ Union requires that contracts be respected.

For FIFPro, the fulfilment of a professional employment agreement between a club and a player is the primary requirement for professional football. In practice, numerous clubs do not respect this clear obligation. No less than 30% of footballers throughout the world either do not receive their salary or receive it late. Clubs from specific countries even have built a bad reputation for not paying their players. Every year, the Dispute Resolution Chambers deal with hundreds of cases of players who have not been paid.

Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008, many clubs have used this as an excuse or an argument to either not pay players or pay them less. FIFPro rejects this argument because it disrespects  employment agreements.

FIFPro respects existing national and international labour law and demands the same of clubs and federations. FIFPro urges FIFA to ensure that the national associations observe the relevant rules and to sanction those associations that do not enforce the payment obligations of their clubs. FIFA has introduced a licence system but, as the aforementioned figures show, this still does not appear to be a guarantee that players will receive their salaries.