Player unions from Botswana and Israel have joined FIFPro\u2019s membership. The announcement was made at the general assembly of the global footballers association in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n
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Player associations from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gabon, Honduras and Panama were named candidate members, and are closing in on becoming FIFPro members.<\/p>\n
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FIFPro currently has 60 members and 5 candidate members, while it follows and supports union activities in 12 other countries.<\/p>\n
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The player union of Israel (IFPO), which was founded two years ago, has quickly established itself as the official representative of all professional footballers in their country.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe are really proud to be a member of FIFPro,” union president Nir Alon said. \u201cI really believe in what we, FIFPro and its unions, stand for, defending the rights of the professional footballers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur membership will help us take the next steps. With the financial support of FIFPro we can further develop more projects to support our players.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Three issues top the agenda of the Israeli union:<\/p>\n
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Establishing a pension fund to help players after they finish their football career.<\/p>\n
Creating a standard player contract.<\/p>\n
Implementing a rule which requires all disciplinary sanctions for professional footballers to be checked by the union.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have already had a very positive meeting with the Labour Minister about the creation of a pension fund,” Alon said. “He has promised that he will help us realize it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Footballers Union of Botswana (FUB) has steadily grown since its establishment in 2009. The FUB was named a candidate member in 2014. Unfortunately its officials could not be present at the general assembly in Costa Rica due to visa problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Player unions from Botswana and Israel have joined FIFPro\u2019s membership. The announcement was made at the general assembly of the global footballers association in Costa Rica. Player associations from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gabon, Honduras and Panama were named candidate members, and are closing in on becoming FIFPro members. FIFPro currently<\/p>\n