FIFA, FIFPRO sign game-changing agreement
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday June 16, 2026 10:23
Under the deal, FIFPRO is recognised as the global representative body for professional footballers.
The Footballers Union of Botswana, headed by its president, Onalethata Tshekiso, is the FIFPRO local affiliate.
In the agreement, a new Global Social Dialogue Platform will bring together clubs, players, leagues and FIFA to negotiate, amongst others, transfer regulations, player welfare standards and mandatory rest periods.
The agreement has been hailed as a game changer which will see the welfare of players improve. Tshekiso was not immediately available to comment on the agreement due to a bereavement in his family.
The former Zebras striker lost his father this week. Of particular interest to the domestic league is the availability of $20 million (approximately P260 million) to pay players owed by their clubs.
Due to cash challenges, local clubs have been unable to regularly pay their players resulting in some cases being taken to FIFA for arbitration.
Under the FIFA, FIFPRO deal, $20 million has been set aside for the player support fund for the period 2026 to 2029.
The arrangement is particularly important for Botswana football where clubs regularly miss monthly payments and players have no strong legal representation.
Both FIFA president Gianni Infantino and FIFPRO president Sergio Marchi described the agreement as a significant step toward improving football governance and player representation.
FIFPRO had the agreement as a giant step towards moving away from a system where rules are largely imposed on players to one where they have a formal seat at the table.
'In light of the MoU and the commitments contained therein, FIFPRO and its continental divisions have taken the decision to withdraw all existing legal proceedings against FIFA, as well as any support for such proceedings, and to refrain from initiating or supporting any future legal proceedings outside football’s regulatory framework. FIFPRO will further ensure that its member unions withdraw their support for and cease to be party to any legal proceedings against FIFA,' reads a joint statement from FIFA and FIFPRO.