BREAKING: FIFA and FIFPRO have agreed to cooperate to increase the growth of professional women’s football and mitigate the impact that the coronavirus pandemic is causing on the game.
It all started on Thursday afternoon, when FIFPRO shared its recently published ‘Raising Our Game’ report, which extensively charts recent progress in the women’s game, as shown in the success of the FIFA 2019 Women’s World Cup at France, and which has made various recommendations to achieve further growth by bolstering the conditions of the players.
The report seeks a sustainable path for female footballers all over the world to benefit from improved standards, allowing them to reach their full potential and play at a competitive level for their club as well as for their respective national team.
In addition, FIFPRO is working towards these improvements for female players, alongside with its network of national player unions and the FIFPRO Global Player Council. During their negotiations, FIFA was keen on discussing the impact of Covid-19 on the women’s game, and how the organisation is trying to work with stakeholders, in order to provide the most support to the women’s football industry.
Women’s football success has grown immeasurably in just a few years, so losing a profitable business wouldn’t be a good idea; on the contrary, if it’s successful, what all organisations should do is to embrace it. With some clubs seeing this pandemic as a possible scape route to don’t spend their cash on their female teams, it’s great to see how a big organisation like FIFA is actually willing on invest and engage in a range of programmes to grow and develop the women’s game on and off the pitch.
These programmes will aim to develop a range of areas in women’s football, including competitions, capacity-building, governance and leadership, professionalisation and technical development, as part of the $1 billion that will be invested by FIFA into women’s football between 2019 and 2022.
Regarding this new union to solve women’s game momentary and future problems, Sarai Bareman, FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer, said:
“At this difficult time for football and many industries around the world, these discussions with FIFPRO are a positive step towards ensuring that the right support and assistance is available to professional players at all levels of women’s football and to continue ongoing efforts to further grow and develop the women’s game around the world.
“Together with key stakeholders across football, including confederations and member associations, we look forward to continuing discussions with FIFPRO in order to overcome the current challenges women’s football faces.”
Finally, Amanda Vandervort, FIFPRO Chief Women’s Football Officer, also had good words about this achievement:
“We are pleased that we have quickly established a working agenda with FIFA following the publication of ‘Raising Our Game’ and are enthusiastic to keep working on behalf of players and their union representatives to keep improving the women’s game through a global set of labour standards.
Besides, both organisations have agreed to work together to support and strengthen the women’s game during this challenging period and beyond, with ongoing discussions planned to cover many topics, including player conditions, competitions and the women’s international match calendar. Undoubtedly, this collaboration was about time; and clearly, a good call for what the women’s game is, a sport that really deserves to be supported.
“The coronavirus presents new challenges for women’s football, and the players themselves, and the best way to confront these is with a strong and united vision,” Vandervort concluded.
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