FIFA and FIFPro have reached a landmark agreement on the future of football

World governing body FIFA has struck a landmark deal with the global players’ union FIFPro that will mean players will be represented when major decisions affecting the game are agreed.

Faced with a number of separate legal claims regarding player welfare, FIFA has agreed a memorandum of understanding with FIFPro, which it says will “change the governance of professional football, including transfer regimes and player welfare standards”.

For the first time, in the powerful FIFA Council that makes world football decisions, FIFPro will have a veto in key areas of the game’s management and observer access with speaking rights.

FIFA said it did the deal on the condition that all legal proceedings against it, initiated by FIFAPro, be dropped.

In October 2024, FIFPro filed a claim against FIFA for “abuse of dominance” over the congested match calendar.

Earlier this week former France midfielder Lassana Diarra A settlement is reached, outsider His compensation claims, initially against FIFA and the Belgian Football Association for 65 million euros (£56.1m) after Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow terminated his contract and he was subsequently denied a transfer to Charleroi in 2014.

One of the key elements of the agreement is that players will have greater protection against what are considered abusive practices, including forcing themselves to train, withholding passports or abusing registration procedures.

In this situation, the players will be able to cancel their contracts and still receive the payments they are owed under that contract, claim compensation for fair expenses and potentially claim an additional six months’ salary in compensation.

Clubs that fail to honor their contractual obligations will face quicker and more effective sporting and financial consequences.

FIFPro president Sergio Marchi said: “This agreement represents an important step forward for football. Ensuring that players and their representatives have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their careers is not only beneficial to footballers, but to the sport as a whole.”

FIFA president Gianno Infantino welcomed the deal in a speech at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City a day before the start of the World Cup.

“It’s about unity, about bringing everyone together,” he said.

“We’ve always had dialogue. Now, sometimes you disagree, when you disagree, well, you can go and tell everybody that, or you can sit down and discuss and see what makes sense.

“So, we signed a memorandum of understanding with FIFPRO, everything is agreed.”