"We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players' rights." That was David Aganzo on Thursday in Madrid, unveiling the International Footballers' Association (AIF) — a direct challenge to FIFPRO's long-standing monopoly on global player representation.
Aganzo, president of Spain's AFE and a former FIFPRO head himself, was appointed to lead the new organisation. Players' unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland stood alongside him at the launch. He claims 15 to 20 more unions are already waiting in the wings.
What's really driving the split
This isn't just an internal football politics spat. The deeper fault line is the expanding match calendar — specifically FIFA's push to add competitions without genuine consultation with players. FIFPRO filed a complaint with the European Commission in 2024 arguing exactly that, accusing FIFA of abusing its dominant market position. The relationship between the two bodies has been deteriorating ever since.
AFE's break with FIFPRO wasn't quiet either. Their Extraordinary General Assembly voted in February — 99.8% in favour — to withdraw from FIFPRO and back the creation of AIF. The stated reasons: a "complete lack of transparency" and zero meaningful dialogue with international governing bodies.
FIFPRO fired back fast, accusing Aganzo of acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement. Aganzo shrugged it off, saying he "will not seek confrontation." Whether that holds is another matter.
The FIFA question
The most loaded question hanging over AIF is the obvious one: is Infantino behind this? Aganzo denied it flatly, but he also confirmed he'll be sitting down with Gianni Infantino at the FIFA Congress on April 30th. That meeting will tell you more than any press conference denial.
A rival union that favours "direct dialogue with FIFA" rather than taking the governing body to the European Commission is, at minimum, a more comfortable arrangement for Infantino. Whether AIF represents genuine player advocacy or becomes a compliant alternative to FIFPRO is the question that matters — and it won't be answered in Madrid press conferences.
Aganzo also weighed in briefly on the reported pressure from a Trump envoy to replace Iran with Italy at the World Cup: "People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit." A reasonable position. Whether that sentiment survives the April 30th conversation with Infantino is another test of what AIF actually stands for.
