1.2.6 History

History

A multinational voice for football players since 1965

While national player unions had been around before (including the PFA in England, which was established in 1907), FIFPRO was the first to bring multiple player unions together under one umbrella in December 1965. The organisation was founded in Paris by representatives of unions from the Netherlands, England, Scotland, France and Italy. From those small beginnings, FIFPRO expanded and developed in the following decades, becoming what it is today: a body which represents 66,000 professional footballer players from all around the world.

What you should know

From small beginnings to a global body

From a handful of European members in the beginning, FIFPRO now has affiliates in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

A growing membership

As professional football continues to develop, so too does FIFPRO. National player unions from the likes of Canada, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have become candidate members of the organisation in recent years.

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