Qatar Players Association (QPA) welcomes the agreement between the International Federation of Professional Players (FIFPro) and world governing body FIFA. QPA has received a letter from FIFPro outlining the terms of the agreement concluded with FIFA in which rules of player transfers have been amended.
According to the amended rules, players will now have the right to:
- Leave the club in the event of ill-treatment to force them to accept amendments to the contract, or in the absence of a salary for two months.
- Additional compensation estimated at 3 to 6 months of salary after the departure of a player from a concerned club that fails to pay the salary.
- If the club does not comply with FIFA’s decision to compensate the players, the club will face an immediate ban on transfers.
- Any contractual provisions granting clubs a period of delay in payment of salaries will be prohibited.
FIFA and FIFPro and football stakeholders will also work on:
- The development of standard contracts for each country to guarantee the basic rights of professional players.
- Establishment of independent arbitration bodies in each country that has a professional system for resolving disputes between players and clubs.
- Studying the modification of the transfer system, the role of intermediaries and the loan system of players to guarantee the basic rights of the players.
Mr. Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Vice President of QPA, said that this agreement will be the first step to improve the regulations at the national federations level to guarantee the basic rights of football players. “We are proud that during our negotiation with Qatar Football Association’s (QFA), we have scoured most of these rights. The cooperation QFA and Qatar Stars League have resulted to the implantation of the best practices prior to Fifa/fifpro deal. such amendments to FIFA’s players status and transfer regulation will ensure that such rights are non-negotiable,” Al Kuwari said. He concluded “the football family in Qatar demonstrated that it operates following international best practices, which was achieved with the cooperation of Qatar FA and QSL.