FIFPRO launches Organising Workshop in Australia to strengthen player-union capacity

FIFPRO has brought player representatives and union staff from across multiple regions to Australia for its inaugural Organising Workshop, a three-day programme aimed at strengthening the ability of member unions to reach, mobilise and represent players.The workshop was held in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, and formed part of a wider month of FIFPRO activity in the region tied to its Asia/Oceania division.FIFPRO’s director of union and player relations Benjamin van den Broek said: “As a players’ association, organising sits at the core of our work. But organising is not easy. It often happens under challenging circumstances. There is uncertainty and organising is difficult work.“What we have done across these three days is brought in all member unions, and focused on organising, on leadership, relationship building, but also shared values, and how can we take action that actually creates change, that makes impact.”FIFPRO said the programme was developed by its Union and Player Relations team and designed as an intensive professional development course, drawing on community organising and leadership frameworks adapted for football.More than 50 participants attended from FIFPRO member associations and other global unions, including the World Players Association, with support from 10 organising coaches from countries including Australia, the United States, France, Germany and Pakistan.The agenda covered practical organising tools, building collective power, leadership structures, public narrative skills and turning shared values into action, with a focus on knowledge sharing across different football and industrial relations contexts.Bob Foose, executive director of the Major League Soccer Players Association, said: “I think taking a step back and thinking about the most basic pieces of organising is critical.“No matter where you are or where your union is in the process, you can always learn something by stepping back to the beginning by questioning or at least not fully accepting that everything you do is as it should be, leaving yourself open to change and to learning new things.“You can learn those new things from far bigger unions; you can just as easily learn them from unions who are just getting started.”FIFPRO said the workshop was delivered in partnership with the Center for Social Innovation in Developing Countries, with sessions exploring how personal stories, shared purpose and strategic leadership can drive change within player associations.FIFPRO Asia/Oceania secretary general Shoko Tsuji said: “It’s been great to spend three days together in the Blue Mountains for our division, especially, where we often face challenges when it comes to organising players.“It’s been a great opportunity to build the capacity of our member unions to learn how we can connect better with our players, how we can find a shared story, shared purpose that will help organise and mobilise players across the region.“A lot of the principles we are learning over these three days can be applied universally. I hope that each one of us can take this home, see how we can apply this to our dressing room visits and our conversations with players.”FIFPRO linked the workshop to its Asia/Oceania General Assembly and its Women’s Football Summit, positioning the Australia programme as a concentrated push to deepen union capabilities and cross-market alignment.