Following the increasing importance of new technologies in football to collect possibly large amounts of data related to the performance and well-being of football players, FIFA and FIFPRO have agreed to identify and develop standards and best practices for the collection, protection and use of personal player-performance data based on the GDPR and Swiss Law.

The use of volumetric player data and artificial intelligence in the football industry requires the direct agreement of players and collective safeguards

FIFPRO Europe and member unions were present at SportsInnovation 2024 in Dusseldorf on 20-21 March as part of Player IQ Tech’s commitment to stay at the forefront of technological advancements in the football industry – including the emergence of new technologies which are likely to impact players’ working environments.

Nine FIFPRO member unions from four continents participated in the first FIFPRO Player IQ Tech Experience Tour in Tel-Aviv, Israel, giving them the chance to enhance their existing knowledge in the field of technology and innovation.

Professional football is a global spectator sport and its players have always been in the public eye. But today, new digital technologies, from the devices that can track every move and pass to the tools of artificial intelligence that can predict a player’s behaviour, have exposed athletes to ever-greater scrutiny.

These standards mark an important starting point to further collectively-agreed solutions between player unions and football stakeholders in domestic playing markets and define the interests and legal rights of players regarding their personal data.

The central data management system will span the careers of players, incorporating club, league, and national team data.

The first FIFPRO Player IQ Tech Experience Tour took place in Tel-Aviv, Israel which highlighted how player data is currently being collected and shared. The event illustrated the need for unions to implement frameworks in order to manage and control the use of player data in the employment context.

As a result of data and technology maturity, the ability to collect and use footballers’ data has greatly increased – and players should have a significant say in how their data is being used.

PFA England CEO Maheta Molango was on a panel speaking about player data rights at Mills & Reeve’s Sports, Entertainment and Media Conference 2022 and says footballers need to be involved in conversations on how their data is being used on and off the pitch.

FIFPRO were this week represented at Future of Sport, a four-day event organised in Paris by Global Sport Week and VivaTech that brought together leading organisations, brands and companies to discuss technology and innovation in sport.

FIFPRO spoke with Chris Higgins who, alongside his playing career, is also working at PFA Scotland as player development manager.