BrazilOliver Wyman supporting football body FIFPRO with future direction and governance
After helping FIFPRO with the development of its new governance model, the global representative body for professional footballers has now also enlisted Oliver Wyman to support the roll-out of several governance initiatives and the future proofing the organisation.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, FIFPRO is the global representative body for professional footballers, uniting the voice of over 70 national player associations. The governing body defends the working rights of more than 60,000 men’s and women’s footballers.
Having seen notable growth over the past years, and facing a changing players and football landscape, FIFPRO in 2024 launched a review to re-assess its top-level governance. Oliver Wyman was enlisted to support this process, and over the course of a five-month period, the management consultants put forward several recommendations to enhance the way the body is governed.
In June last year, FIFPRO’s member player unions approved the new governance model, with Sergio Marchi – then the President of Argentinian player union FAA and now FIFPRO’s President –at the time stating, “This change of structure and governance will bring more dynamism to the decisions, management and leadership of the organisation.”
In an extension of Oliver Wyman’s mandate, the global strategy and management consulting firm has been tapped to continue its support to FIFPRO.
This includes supporting the strategic development process underpinning the organisation’s future direction. Late May, FIFPRO’s 12-person global board chaired by Marchi came together in the Netherlands to hold several strategy sessions – those were facilitated by Oliver Wyman.
Top issues on the agenda included the health and wellbeing of players, with concerns about excessive workload at the elite level and underload for many others, as well as the problematic situation regarding the respect of basic player rights in several parts of the world.
“Bolivia is a striking example, where players go unpaid for months – and sadly, it’s just one of many similar cases globally, with Turkey among the countries facing comparable issues,” noted Marchi. “It is not possible that this is happening in 2025.”
“In other countries, like Cameroon, we’re also seeing serious governance issues and interference in the work of unions, which further undermines the rights and protections of players.”
Headquartered in New York, Oliver Wyman is a global consulting firm. Its work with FIFPRO is led by members of its London and Amsterdam offices.
