Professional Footballers Australia | |
Founded | April 1993 |
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Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria |
Location | |
Members | 655 (2020) [1] |
Key people |
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Affiliations | ACTU, FIFPro |
Website | pfa |
The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), formerly the Australian Soccer Players' Association, is an Australian trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and FIFPRO that represents professional male, female and elite junior soccer players.
Before the PFA, eight previous attempts had been made to form a footballers' association in Australia. The PFA was formed in April 1993 as the Australian Soccer Players' Association. [2] [3]
In 1994, the PFA won a standardised contract for footballers, and through the Australian Industrial Relations Commission won the abolition of a transfer system much hated by Australian footballers. [4]
Since the mid-1990s, the PFA has been active in advancing soccer players' pay and conditions, and has also been active in protecting soccer player's from unfair dismissal. It is a member of FIFPro. [5]
The PFA holds an annual award ceremony, which formally recognises the most outstanding Australian footballers. [6]
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The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, generally referred to as FIFPRO, is the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional footballers. FIFPRO, with its global headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, is made up of 66 national players' associations. In addition, there are four candidate members. Lionel Messi has the most ever appearances in the FIFPRO World 11 with 16 overall, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 15.
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