Players should be able to focus on their game without the worry of discrimination

Discrimination in football is often framed as a reflection of wider society that the game alone cannot be held responsible for. However, abuse or violence in any other workplace would be completely unacceptable, and too often in football it is treated as something players are expected to cope with and manage.

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Erica Puppo, FIFPRO’s Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, talks about the current climate of discrimination within the game today and the steps that must be taken to effectively address it.  

FIFPRO: Do you think there is a systematic flaw in football’s approach to discrimination? If so, what steps should be taken to address this?

Erica Puppo: Discrimination in football definitely exists on a systematic level, and there are some fundamental mindset shifts that can help drive real and effective change.

We need to move from a reactive to a more preventative outlook. Match protocols, reporting mechanisms, social media protections, and wellbeing support all play an incredibly important role, but these measures come into effect after harm has already occurred. More focus is needed on proactive frameworks as well, including stronger inclusion and anti-discrimination programmes across the game and raising supporter awareness on recognising and reporting abuse at matches.

We also need to reduce individual responsibility in favour of systemic accountability. The obligation of reporting abuse or speaking publicly should not fall on affected players themselves. Institutions need to be the primary actors in combatting discrimination — not background supporters.

FIFPRO: With whom should the responsibility of tackling discrimination lie?  

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for discrimination in football and similarly there isn’t one single institution responsible for tackling abuse. It’s a shared responsibility across all stakeholders in the industry.

Over time, the normalisation of discrimination in today’s society and in football tends to diminish the responsibility of perpetrators, while also shifting attention away from clubs, competition organisers, and governing bodies who have a duty of care. Instead, it is players, those most affected by abuse, who are still carrying the burden, sharing their experiences and demanding change.

The measure of progress is simple: when affected players no longer have to be the ones asking for change, we will know institutions have stepped up.

Can blueprint recommendations be constructed and applied globally across the football industry?

Actively sharing best practices is one of the most practical steps the game can take right now, as we look to develop a consistent and effective response to discrimination in football.

However, it’s important when addressing discrimination, both in the game and the society around it, that we acknowledge the complexities of cultural context. Racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of abuse can be perceived and experienced very differently depending on location, and our messaging and responses should reflect those nuances.

FIFPRO runs region-specific divisions that help define discrimination within different cultural contexts and tackle it accordingly. FIFPRO Asia/Oceania recently published a report focused on discrimination targeting players from Asian backgrounds, with concrete recommendations; in Europe we have worked alongside Erasmus University, UEFA, and Fare, to conduct research on the experience of racialised players in European football; and in South America, FIFPRO is leading an Anti-Discrimination Taskforce with CONMEBOL – establishing a united effort to bring players’ experiences directly into the campaign for the first time.

How effective are current campaigns and anti-discrimination efforts, and what progress has been made?

Football has never had more visibility on this issue: more campaigns, more statements, more awareness. Clubs, leagues, and governing bodies are investing more in this space than ever before, and that commitment represents a meaningful shift from where the game was a decade ago. However, these efforts are often applied in a compartmentalised fashion, and there remains a significant gap between the acknowledgement of the problem, and sustained actions to tackle it.

In the media, too often the pattern is the same: an incident occurs, condemnation follows, and the game moves on. Visibility of abuse without clear consequences for perpetrators risks desensitising us to both the abuse and the campaigns meant to challenge it. We need to ensure that campaigns and zero-tolerance messaging are not merely abstract displays of support and are backed up with measurable commitments. By this I mean holding ourselves accountable with concrete actions, timelines, and outcomes that can be publicly tracked.

You mentioned some of the work achieved by FIFPRO’s regional divisions. Can you provide more concrete examples of how FIFPRO and player unions are working to protect players from discrimination?

FIFPRO has invested in a rigorous evidence-based approach, guided by confidential player interviews, data gathering, and research through formalised partnerships.

At national level, unions are the closest layer of support for players. Several – including those in France, Indonesia, Australia, Korea Republic, England, and the Netherlands – have introduced anti-discrimination initiatives that are practical, ongoing, and player-centric, providing legal representation, mental health support, education, and online protections tailored to their context.

As an organisation ourselves, we also have to hold ourselves to the same standard we expect of others. FIFPRO has established a dedicated Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Committee and an organisational EDI strategy as we feel internal accountability is fundamental to the credibility of our work.

How does FIFPRO tackle abuse aimed at players on social media during major tournaments, and what are the next steps?

We know from our own evidence that social media abuse during major tournaments is significant, with the scale and intensity increasing with every round. After Qatar 2022, FIFPRO and FIFA jointly published a report on the magnitude and type of abuse targeting players during the tournament.

Over 20 million posts and comments were scanned, with 434,000 flagged by AI for human review. This revealed that more than 300 players were targeted by racism alone, and as a result information on over 300 identified individuals was shared with member associations and law enforcement authorities. With increasing tensions globally, we can expect a similar picture at the upcoming World Cup.

Players need commitment from platforms, institutions, and competition organisers to move beyond moderation and start delivering real consequences for culprits, putting out a very real message that online abuse is not tolerated.

What do you envision for the future of tackling discrimination in football?

We need a globally consistent baseline: minimum measurable standards that all players can safely expect in their workplace, consistently applied across all stakeholders. We are already taking steps in the right direction, and FIFPRO has worked closely with the World Leagues Association to develop a set of recommendations for addressing inclusion and anti-discrimination in leagues and unions around the world. The frameworks exist – what we now need is the collective will across institutions to put them into consistent, measurable practice.

Education, advocacy and changing the narrative matter, but they are not enough on their own. What makes a real difference is concrete, practical support and structural change, grounded in evidence, transparency, and accountability – all of which should be built around players’ experiences.

The future we want to see is one where players can focus entirely on their game, without the worry of discrimination and how they are expected to absorb, manage, or campaign against. Getting there requires sustained, collaborative effort across every level of the game, and a genuine commitment to keep improving rather than settling for performative measures.