Rappreżentanti tal-Malta Football Players Association attendew għall-Assemblea Ġenerali Annwali tal-FIFPro ġewwa Hoofdorp fl-Olanda, Assemblea li mmarkat il-50 sena anniversarju mit-twelid tal-FIFPro.
Il-president tal-FIFPro Philippe Piat, fetaħ l-Assemblea Ġenerali Annwali nhar il- Ġimgħa 11 ta' Diċembru. Ġew diskussi diversi kwistjonijiet fosthom rapporti finanzjarji, appuntamenti ta' membri fis-Supervisory Board tal-FIFPro Holdings, u l-viżjoni u l-objettivi tal-FIFPro. Apparti minn hekk ġiet diskussa l-isfida kontra s-sistema tat-transfers kurrenti kif ukoll xi kambjamenti li kien hemm fl-istatus u l-protokol tal-FIFPro. Kodiċi ta' kondotta ġew mħabbra għar-rappreżentanti tal-FIFPro madwar id-dinja.
Michael Lahoud u Kei Kamara ġew preżentanti bil-FIFPro Merit Award 2015 bħala rikonoxximent speċjali għall-involviment tagħhom fil-proġett ta' skejjel ġewwa Salone fis-Sierra Leone. Iż-żewġ plejers li jagħmlu parti mil-Major League Soccer fl- Amerika ta' Fuq ingħataw ukoll ċekk ta' $25,000.
Nhar is-Sibt 12 ta' Diċembru ġew miżmuma l-Assemblei Annwali Ġenerali tad-diviżjonijiet tal-FIFPro Ewropea, Amerikana, Asjatika u Afrikana. Waqt il-laqgħa tad-Diviżjoni Ewropea ġie diskuss il-kriżi tal-FIFA, il-kollaborazzjoni mal-UEFA, l-evalwazzjoni u l-progress tal-laqgħat tas-Social Dialogue, kif ukoll kampanji kontra l-match fixing. L-Executive Education Program offrut mil-FIFPro kien suċċess u l-ewwel numru ta' gradwati ġew imħabbra.
Id-Diviżjonijiet kollha reġaw ingħaqdu għal-laqgħa finali ta' l-Assemblea bi preżentazzjoni fuq it-teknoloġija tal-video waqt il-partiti. Din il-parti tal-kungress ġiet indirizzata mil-eks plejer ta' AC Milan u tat-tim nazzjonali Olandiż, l-istilla Marco Van Basten fejn hu tkellem favur din it-teknoloġija. Diskussjonijiet oħra fuq l-aġenda kienu jinkludu l-futbol tan-nisa, ix-xogħol u l-isforzi li qed isiru minn naħa tal-FIFPro biex jimpruvja s-saħħa u s-sigurta' waqt il-logħba, il-UNI World Athletes u il-FIFPro World XI.
L-Assemblea Ġenerali Annwali kompliet bil-konferenza legali dwar id-drittijiet tal-plejers. Diversi atleti minn diversi sports li ġġieldu u finalment rebħu battalji legali, indirizzaw il-konferenza u pparteċipaw f'sessjoni ta' Q&A. Fost l-atleti kien hemm l-għawwiem Spanjol tal-long distance David Meca-Medina, l-eks ċiklist Bruno Walrave, l-eks plejer tal-basketball Jyri Lehtonen, u l-players tal-futbol Olivier Bernard, George Eastham, Zahir Belounis u Jean-Marc Bosman.
Il-15 ta' Diċembru tal-1995 hija d-data ta' meta ġiet fis-seħħ ir-regola Bosman. Il-qorti tal-Ġustizzja Ewropea kienet qatgħatha favur il-plejer Belġjan Jean-Marc Bosman sabiex il-plejer ikun jista' jingħaqad ma' club ieħor mingħajr ebda ħlas wara li ntemmlu l-kuntratt mat-tim preċedenti. Din ir-regola affettwat mhux biss il-plejers tal-futbol iżda kienet ta' benefiċċju wkoll għall-atleti kollha.
Waqt din iċ-ċelebrazzjoni għall-anniversarju tal-FIFPro u tar-regola Bosman, il- FIFPro faħħret il-plejers tal-futbol kif ukoll atleti oħra li ħadu azzjoni legali kontra r-regoli tal-isport rispettiv għal-benefiċċju personali u ta' ħaddieħor, fejn ħafna mid-drabi jitfgħu f'riskju il-karrieri professjonali tagħhom.
Dawn il-leġġendi legali għenu sabiex jimpruvjaw id-drittijiet tagħhom u ta' sħabhom l-atleti fl-isports.
The Malta Football Players Association attended the FIFPro Annual General Assembly which marked the golden anniversary of FIFPro. FIFPro President Philippe Piat opened the Annual General Assembly on Friday 11th December. Various issues were discussed including financial reports, appointment of members of the Supervisory Board of FIFPro Holdings, vision and objectives of FIFPro, challenge to the current transfer system, and changes to the FIFPro statute and protocol.A code of conduct was announced for all FIFPro representatives around the globe.
Michael Lahoud and Kei Kamara were presented with the 2015 FIFPro Merit Award. Both Major League Soccer players earned this special recognition including a cheque of $25,000 for their involvement in the project schools for Salone, in Sierra Leone.
On Saturday 12th December the FIFPro Divisions Europe, Americas, Asia and Africa held their division Annual General Assembly. Division Europe discussed the FIFA governance crisis and the collaboration with UEFA, the evaluation of the Social Dialogue meetings and progress, FIFPro communication and player engagement campaigns and also match fixing. The Executive Education Program offered by FIFPro has been successful and first graduates were announced.
All divisions convened for the final session of the Annual General Assembly with presentations on video technology during football games, where former AC Milan and Netherlands National Team star, Marco Van Basten, addressed the Congress since he is in favour of such technology. Other items on the agenda included FIFPro and women's football, FIFPro's efforts to improve health and safety, UNI World Athletes, and an update on the FIFPro World XI.
The Annual General Congress continued with a Legal Conference on footballers' rights. Various athletes from various sports, who during their careers fought and won legal battles, addressed the conference and participated in Q&A sessions. Among the athletes were long distance Spanish swimmer David Meca-Medina, former cyclist Bruno Walrave, former basketball player Jyri Lehtonen, footballers Olivier Bernard, George Eastham, Zahir Belounis and the world renowned Jean-Marc Bosman.
15th of December 1995 marks the day of the Bosman ruling. The European Court of Justice delivered its now famous Bosman judgment, which stated that this Belgian football player was free to join any other club on a free transfer after his contract with his previous club had expired. The ruling was not restricted to football players, but was beneficial to all athletes.
Celebrating both the FIFPro and the Bosman ruling anniversary, FIFPro paid tribute to all current and former football players and other athletes who took legal action to fight the powers in football and other sports, for their own benefit, and also for the benefit of others, often putting their own careers at risk. Most importantly, these legal legends helped to improve the rights of many of their peers in sports.