FIFA Fund for Football Players helps players who are unpaid by their clubs
A further 140 players are due to be compensated from the FIFA Fund for Football Players, FIFA and FIFPRO lawyers have confirmed.
The compensation for the new tranche of players has been granted following a decision taken by the FIFA-FIFPRO Steering Committee.
Created in 2020 to provide financial assistance to players who have neither been paid nor have the chance of duly receiving the salaries agreed with their clubs, more than 1,000 players have already received payments from the fund during the initial application phase.
The 140 newly approved applications correspond to phase two and relate to the period from July to December 2020, for which a total of $3 million had been allocated. Overall, applications relating to 39 clubs from 22 member associations were received as a result of clubs going out of business due to “insolvency proceedings, being disaffiliated from their respective member association or ceasing to participate in professional football altogether”, FIFA said.
At the scheme’s launch, FIFA set aside a total of $16 million, which will be delivered to successful applicants in four tranches.
Emilio García Silvero (pictured, left), FIFA chief legal & compliance officer, said: “The FIFA Fund for Football Players is making a significant impact in terms of ensuring the protection of players in need. Together with FIFPRO, we look forward to entering the second half of this landmark initiative, which is providing essential support to football’s main actors.
“Parallel to this initiative, we have been making concrete steps in recent years towards further improving our legal framework, precisely in order to deal with the non-payment of players’ wages.”
Roy Vermeer (pictured, right), FIFPRO legal director, said: “The FIFA Fund for Football Players has once more proven to be an important safeguard for professional football players worldwide. In the second phase of the fund, another 140 players from 15 leagues will see a substantial part of their unpaid wages recovered in countries where there are insufficient salary protection mechanisms at domestic level.”