FIFPRO and 32 European Leagues have agreed on a framework to improve concussion management across domestic competitions.

FIFPRO and European Leagues have hosted an online workshop of more than 50 representatives from player unions and leagues, along with medical experts from FIFA and Major League Soccer, with a view to drastically improving the management of concussion in football.

FIFPRO Europe and European Leagues held a summit on concussion management in professional football as part of a pioneering agreement aimed at improving standards in more than 20 European domestic club competitions.

FIFPRO caught up with PFA Scotland Chief Executive Fraser Wishart to hear why the player association is calling for improved concussion management, the importance of leagues and unions being united on the issue, and what outcome PFA Scotland hopes to see from this weekend’s IFAB meeting.   

FIFPRO takes note of the comments in and around the International Football Association Board’s annual general meeting over the weekend. While current proposals remain insufficient to adequately change the rules of the game to better protect players who have suffered a concussion, FIFPRO recognizes the intention to provide better protection as soon as possible.

FIFPRO remains committed to improving professional football’s medical protocol to better protect players after a concussion, an injury that can lead to long-term health issues and result in a fatality.

An Australian female football player advises the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to introduce a temporary substitute to provide medical staff with a 10-minute window to assess if a player has a concussion.

The midfielder suffered a concussion when playing for Zilina in the Slovakian Fortuna Liga after accidentally clashing heads with an opponent.

The latest Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) contains fresh guidance on assessing and managing a potentially concussed athlete.

FIFPRO welcomes the announcement by UEFA that the 24 national teams in the UEFA European Championship have signed a Concussion Charter that commits them to taking a series of measures to improve the care of players who suffer a suspected concussion on the pitch.

Michal Ravitz is a former Israeli international, who recently took part in a pilot project with FIFPRO and IFPO focusing on headers and concussions in elite football.

FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum (WLF), signatories of the Global Labour Agreement (GLA), are greatly disappointed by today’s decision by The IFAB not to permit a 2023 trial of temporary substitutions in the case of a suspected concussion in football.