FIFPRO Asia & Oceania held its annual congress on the 9th (Korea time) in Sydney, Australia, with member representatives.
The congress served to highlight the power and potential of partnerships between players, the continental confederations and governing bodies in shaping the future of football.
The event, co-hosted by FIFPRO Asia & Oceania and the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), was attended by representatives from 10 member nations and observer associations, Australian football officials, and Alex Phillips, FIFPRO secretary general. In particular, current and former players such as Aspro, who played for K League's Pohang Steelers, and Ibusuki Hiroshi, who plays for A-League's Western Sydney Wanderers, also graced the occasion.
The congress was timed to coincide with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup, which opened earlier this month in Australia and is being played amid intense excitement, providing a key opportunity to discuss the importance of cooperation among players, the continental confederations and governing bodies.
Also, recent key achievements were shared, including ▲support for the AFC Women's Asian Cup ▲implementation of player welfare services ▲strengthening global representation ▲international solidarity.
FIFPRO Asia & Oceania said, "We presented a research report analyzing the commercial opportunities of the AFC Women's Asian Cup and delivered a letter from players of seven countries urging a genuine partnership with the AFC, and we provided support services for participating players and held a vote for the team of the tournament," and added, "We appointed Asian stars such as Chris Wood, Hasegawa Yui and Endo Wataru to the FIFPRO global players council Commissioner and have continued support for Indian players who recently experienced a crisis, and we signed a cooperation agreement with FIFPRO Africa."
Shoko Tsuji, FIFPRO Asia & Oceania secretary general, said, "Players in Asia and Oceania are ready to engage actively as partners in football governance," and emphasized, "The recognition that all stakeholders are consolidation is central to football's success."
She particularly pointed out, "Less than 40% of participating players are full-time professionals, and many earn less than $30,000 a year, so disparities remain," and urged a substantive partnership with the AFC.
Bo Bushi, FIFPRO Asia & Oceania president, also said emphatically, "We are pursuing strategic partnerships with the AFC and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), which will bring better outcomes for both players and the football community."
The congress also featured a panel discussion that included Antor Isaac, chairman of Football Australia (FA), and Moya Dodd, a former Australia national team player, where they shared cases such as collective agreements for Australian national team players.
Best practices for player health and safety were also discussed in depth, including extreme weather conditions, concussion protection and anti-racism campaigns.
[Photo] International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO)
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