Footballers Unfiltered: Jackson Irvine on the importance of player unions and the collective

• Jackson Irvine was a guest on FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered, hosted by former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart
• The FIFPRO series enables current and former footballers to have open conversations about the hidden side of the profession
• Irvine talks about the importance of player unions and the power of the collective player voice

St Pauli and Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine insists footballers should not underestimate the power that comes with being a member of a players' union.

The midfielder was speaking with Joe Hart on the latest episode of Footballers Unfiltered, a FIFPRO series where men’s and women's players highlight important but little-discussed issues in professional football.

"Don't underestimate the power of the unions and the help that's there for you," Irvine said in a message to other players. "When it comes to things like education, mental health support, player safety, find out who your player representatives are and someone will be there to support you. The primary objective of any union is to support us as workers."

Having captained his club and country, Irvine knows what it takes to be a leader. The 32-year-old's influence stretches beyond the pitch in his role as Co-President of Professional Footballers Australia and as a member of FIFPRO’s Global Player Council.

"It's two roles that I’m very proud of. I’ve always been a strong believer in unions and player associations being able to help improve the game. You can only be part of those conversations when you get involved."

'Bring people together and make real change'

Irvine, who has made over 75 senior national team appearances, reflects on how he became involved in football's player union movement during the early stages of his international career.

In 2015, as a 22-year-old, Irvine witnessed the power of the collective up close when players put pressure on Football Australia to deliver equal pay for the men’s and women’s national teams. A landmark equal pay and conditions deal for the Matildas was eventually signed in 2019.

"It was my second call up for the national team and this was when we were pushing hardest for the gender equality agreement. The players all agreed to do a media blackout for that [October international] window.

"I remember the amount of pressure you can apply as players when you're together and when you have a clear vision of something that you want to achieve. The fire was lit within me after that. If you want to make real change within a workplace, you can bring people together and make it happen."

Among the many player-centric issues Professional Footballers Australia is tackling today is mental health support and player workload.

"Modern problems are becoming more and more spoken about and increasingly relevant when it comes to things like lack of mental health support. We've seen through our studies and data that when [mental health support] is on offer to players, it is overwhelmingly used when they're aware it exists.

"Player safety is a constant issue we're trying to address on and off the pitch when it comes to social media, and obviously player workload is one of the biggest and most talked about issues in the game at the moment."

While Irvine is helping to make football a better place for the players, the Australian remains committed to his responsibilities on the pitch.

"Football's always been the biggest part of my life and my obsession from a young age, and that kind of gets lost sometimes because I have so many other interests. But I've always found that balance has been important and having interests and passions that you can explore has only made me a more rounded person; I actually think it's made me a better player as I've got older."

'Players are the unions'

Recorded at Spotify’s London studios, Footballers Unfiltered allows current and former players to have open conversations about the rarely heard side of the profession while shining a light on how player unions are tackling these issues.

Irvine and Hart were joined by FIFPRO Asia/Oceania’s Secretary General Shoko Tsuji on the latest episode.

"For us unions are the players, and players are the unions," said Tsuji. "We wouldn't be able to do our work without the involvement of active players because the game is constantly changing.

"We also need to be aware of the current issues that players are affected by; the biggest mistake we can make as FIFPRO is assuming we know the issues that players are experiencing. That's why it’s so important that we have players like Jackson involved in our work."