Beijing Time (CEST), evening of August 6: The International Professional Footballers' Association (FIFPro) has issued an official statement responding to FIFA's earlier reaffirmation of support for Infantino. Related link: [FIFA: Supporting President Infantino, Will Not Tolerate Any Attacks Undermining Proper Process]

FIFPro's Official Statement:

FIFA's Future Football Engine (FFE) programme no longer exists, but the abuse of power that created it remains. The priority must be governance reform, not concealment. While the withdrawal of the FFE plan was inevitable, withdrawing the proposal does not erase the issues it exposed.

A plan to permanently alter ownership and control of the FIFA World Cup—commercializing a tournament built across generations of players—was developed in secret, negotiated behind closed doors, and nearly finalized before FIFA's Council, member federations, players, and other recognized stakeholders in football even knew of its existence. This is not merely a governance failure; it is a serious abuse of the FIFA President's power.

The Rabat Statement Only Confirms the Problem

We note with deep concern the internal report FIFA issued following the meeting in Rabat, Morocco. Rather than addressing what occurred, the report reaffirms support for FIFA leadership and downplays fundamental governance and charter failures as "process and communication" issues requiring "improvement."

Most troubling is FIFA's insistence that, despite acknowledging "errors," all actions were "fully compliant with FIFA's statutes and regulations." If true, this is not an excuse but an indictment of FIFA's current governance framework. A framework that permits a project of such magnitude to proceed behind closed doors, hidden from those affected until a leak occurs, must be reformed—not protected.

We also note FIFA's warning that they "will not tolerate any attacks on their integrity." We must be clear: oversight of football's governing body is not an attack; it is a duty for all who care for this sport.

Any attempt to characterize legitimate, good-faith oversight as disloyalty only deepens concerns this incident has raised, and an internal review reported only to an uninformed Council cannot resolve the issue. Players, their representatives, and stakeholders in professional football must be involved.

No organization can rebuild public trust in a president who has undermined the very conditions on which trust is built. Trust cannot be demanded, authority cannot be easily established, and legitimacy cannot be simply declared. All three must be earned, and all three can be lost.

FIFPro's Demands

A memorandum signed weeks ago marked genuine progress, but the FFE incident demonstrates that it alone is insufficient to protect players or this sport from unilateral abuses of power.

Regardless of how the current crisis is resolved, world football now requires structural safeguards to ensure such incidents do not recur. FIFPro believes these measures must include at least:

·Integration of global social dialogue platforms as a genuine, permanent, and structural component of FIFA governance, rather than a mechanism that can be arbitrarily bypassed.

·Legally binding consultation with professional football stakeholders on major decisions, including international fixture calendars, tournament expansion, and other issues fundamentally affecting professional competitions.

·Voting rights for professional football stakeholders on the FIFA Council, and formal, explicit recognition of FIFPro's status as the global representative of professional footballers.

·Governance and structural reforms to ensure no individual can unilaterally make decisions in this sport again.

Next Steps

FIFPro today sent a letter to FIFA leadership outlining these demands, making clear that this incident is not merely a isolated management error, but concerns the operations of world football's highest governing body and how its power is exercised.

The letter is signed by the FIFPro President and the presidents of FIFPro's regional divisions, including: FIFPro Africa, FIFPro Asia/Oceania, FIFPro Europe, FIFPro South America, and FIFPro North and Central America.

While the FFE withdrawal prevented an irreversible decision, it has not restored the trust damaged by the initial proposal. That trust has been fundamentally broken, and well-crafted statements, internal reviews, or promises of improved processes cannot rebuild it.

Simply announcing governance and structural reforms that should have always existed also cannot restore this trust. These reforms are now mandatory, but they represent responsibility for the future, not forgiveness for the past.

Players are not responsible for this crisis, and they will insist that football must emerge from it with stronger institutions, better safeguards, and leadership worthy of the trust this sport demands.

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