Marshall Munetsi: "The player voice as a group is more powerful than any individual"

• FIFPRO last week launched a new Global Player Council with 37 footballers, including Alexis Mac Allister, Alessandro Bastoni, Lucy Bronze, Yui Hasegawa, Wataru Endo and Marshall Munetsi
• The council provides a platform for active players with international experience to speak directly on matters affecting their careers
• Zimbabwean midfielder Munetsi harnessed the power of the player voice which helped reverse his country’s FIFA suspension in 2023

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Zimbabwe midfielder Marshall Munetsi is one of 37 players on FIFPRO's Global Player Council that is helping drive positive change for footballers worldwide.

First established in 2019, the Global Player Council was relaunched last week with new faces including Alexis Mac Allister, Alessandro Bastoni, Wataru Endo, Chris Wood, Yui Hasegawa, Griedge Mbock, Caroline Weir and Elena Linari, as well as returning members such as Lucy Bronze, Jackson Irvine and Munetsi.

Footballers with international experience comment on, discuss and influence global regulations and the strategic development of football worldwide. All council members are closely engaged with their domestic player unions, ensuring their representation at the global level is grounded in the support and guidance of their national associations.

"Coming from Africa, especially when you say something as an individual, you can get criticised a lot or blacklisted," said Munetsi, who is one of eight international players from Africa on the council. "This is why the union is there: to give the voice to the group, not as individuals. That's why the player voice as a group is much more powerful than any individual."

How Zimbabwean players used their voice to reverse country’s suspension

In 2022 FIFA suspended the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) for government interference. It resulted in the country’s national teams – men, women, youth – being banned, while clubs could also not play in continental competitions.

Negotiations between FIFA, ZIFA and the country’s Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC) were at a stalemate. Zimbabwean players were the victims of the actions taken by stakeholders and governing bodies. The players felt their voice was not being heard and wanted to find a solution to the ban.

Zimbabwean player union FUZ first initiated a meeting with the SRC, then, together with Munetsi, had a conversation with a FIFA representative. This was followed by a meeting at FIFPRO’s headquarters with FIFPRO leadership, FIFA representatives, FUZ president Desmond Maringwa, and national team players. Jointly they agreed that delegations of FIFA and CAF would both have meetings in Zimbabwe with stakeholders and local players.

Four months later, in July 2023, FIFA announced ZIFA’s ban had been lifted, allowing the country’s national teams to compete in international matches again, and club teams to play in continental competition.

"The Global Player Council has really shown me the power that it has to have the voice of the players, as a person who was part of a nation that was banned from participating in international games," said Munetsi.

"We ended up having the opportunity to discuss with the Global Player Council through FIFPRO the issues that affect the players and I also saw how powerful it was for them to take the voices of all the Zimbabwean players and people to FIFA and find a solution to bring back football to Zimbabwe."

'It's not only about our country anymore'

With Munetsi and Zimbabwean footballers having played an important role in reversing Zimbabwe’s FIFA suspension, the midfielder understands the power of the player voice to shape football across the African continent.

Footballers such as Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Victor Wanyama (Kenya), Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria) and Rachael Kundananji (Zambia) sit alongside Munetsi in the council.

"It's not only about our country anymore because since I've been part of the Global Player Council, I've heard other players from other countries, especially Africa, coming to me asking how they can solve certain issues in their country," Munetsi said. "I see it as a responsibility to engage other countries, engage other players, because they do want to get assistance – but they don't know how to then engage global player councils and to know how they will be able to assist them."

The Global Player Council supports FIFPRO and its national associations on player-centric matters such as the international match calendar, employment standards, player data, social media abuse, and more.

While national player unions are the key driver of the collective voice of footballers domestically, the council strengthens the capacity to address issues at the international level.