Van Seggelen told 180 player union officials attending FIFPRO's general assembly, in Sydney, that the time had come to step down after nearly 30 years. Appointed in 1992, he has played a key role in the growth of FIFPRO which has increased its membership to 65 associations representing more than 65,000 professional football players.
"You do this job with one objective: to fight for the rights of players all over the world," Van Seggelen said. “I am very proud that over the past 25 years we have been able to build a truly global network of unions to work with us. We have had great successes and none bigger than the Jean-Marc Bosman case that gave footballers more freedom of movement than ever before.”
Baer-Hoffmann is a member of FIFPRO’s management team who heads the Policy and Strategic relations department and has held the position of Secretary General of FIFPRO Europe for two years. He has worked alongside Van Seggelen in leading relations with football stakeholders and collaborated with FIFPRO member unions on all continents.
“Players will continue to be central to everything we do at FIFPRO”
— by Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, next FIFPRO General Secretary
