FIFA to launch £12 million player salary protection fund

FIFA has announced plans to launch The FIFA Fund for Football Players (FIFA FFP) a new platform designed for players who suffer from unpaid wages.

In association with FIFPRO, FIFA’s FFP will provide financial support to players who have not been paid by clubs, under the circumstance that the team has become financially unstable and is unable to pay wages.

The world governing body has provided £12.3 million to the fund, split into yearly allocations until 2022.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino commented: “This agreement and our commitment to helping players in a difficult situation show how we interpret our role as world football’s governing body. We are also here to reach out to those in need, especially within the football community, and that starts with the players, who are the key figures in our game.”

In addition, another £3.8 million has been put aside for players who had been affected between June 2015 – June 2020.

With growing financial implications in football and ownership troubles, highly reputable clubs like Bury fc have folded. FIFA’s FFP hopes to soften the blow to some players who very quickly find themselves out of a job.

FIFPRO President Philippe Piat added: “More than 50 clubs in 20 countries have shut in the last five years, plunging hundreds of footballers into uncertainty and hardship. This fund will provide valuable support to those players and families most in need. 

“Many of these clubs have shut to avoid paying outstanding wages, immediately re-forming as so-called new clubs. FIFPRO has long campaigned against this unscrupulous practice and thanks FIFA for combating it in its Disciplinary Code.”

The new system, set to come into operation on 1st July 2020, follows FIFA’s 2019 revised disciplinary code which strengthened the framework for dealing with the non-payment of players’ wages.

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