FIFPro writes to FIFA: Use your power to protect ISL players

The next edition of the ISL has been paused by FSDL, the All India Football Federation’s marketing partners, since there is no clarity over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) beyond Dec 8 this year

Panaji: The global football players’ union has urged FIFA to use its vast wealth and power to resolve the “alarming situation” faced by footballers employed by Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, many of whom have suspended or deferred player salaries.FIFPro, a global body that represents 66,000 men's and women's players around the world, said unlawful suspensions of contracts, combined with the general state of uncertainty surrounding the near future of the top-tier ISL, have plunged players into a great state of uncertainty and distress.“Whilst I understand that you might at first glance consider this to be a purely national matter, if FIFA wishes to make football truly global, then it should use its vast wealth and power (to come up with a solution),” FIFPro secretary general Alex Phillips wrote to his FIFA counterpart Mattias Grafstrom early this week, also recording president Gianni Infantino’s ‘close relationship with Chair of FSDL’.“FIFA cannot continue to effectively ignore one in five people on the planet,” he added.The next edition of the ISL has been paused by FSDL, the All India Football Federation’s marketing partners, since there is no clarity over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) beyond Dec 8 this year. The federation maintains it cannot act because the Supreme Court made an oral observation that the renewal of the agreement should not be done until its final order.The uncertainty has prompted three clubs to put player salaries on hold; others have suggested deferment, while six clubs are yet to start pre-season training.A significant number of players, FIFPro said, approached its members to report unilateral suspensions of their contracts by ISL clubs, with their livelihoods and careers now on the line."Unfortunately, there is currently no clear roadmap in terms of the next competition edition’s kick-off and calendar, but also no financial stability, which is obviously fundamental for all interested parties, especially the players who we represent,” said Phillips, adding that this was also causing severe damage to the wider football ecosystem in India.Interestingly, in 2018, Philips as head of UEFA-AFC affairs and Nic Coward, consultant to FIFA, had authored a report titled ‘The Sustainable Development of Top-level Indian Club Football --- A Road Map’ which recommended an expanded football league with 16 teams no later than 2022-23, with the bottom two teams being relegated.The 14-page report had also requested FIFA to take an interest, and prioritise, genuine football development in Asia (and Africa) in general, and in India in particular, not least because it is now the world’s most populous country with a large and youthful population.

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