{"id":13850,"date":"2024-05-16T11:50:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T09:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/?post_type=news&p=13850"},"modified":"2024-05-16T15:32:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:32:24","slug":"world-players-new-leadership-affiliates-plan","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/world-players-new-leadership-affiliates-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"World Players Association announces new leadership, new affiliates and a plan to increase player power globally"},"content":{"rendered":"
Leaders of the World Players Association<\/span>, a sector of UNI Global Union which represents more than 20 million worke<\/span>rs worldwide,<\/span> agreed key decisions<\/span> to <\/span>scale and <\/span>grow the organization<\/span> last month at the Scottsdale, Arizona, offices of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), citing the pivotal moment in the global sport industry for athletes taking more risks to claim power and rights to shape their careers, lives and financial futures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Executive Committee approved a <\/span>strategic <\/span>framework<\/span> to enhance the organization’s ambitious <\/span>mission<\/span> to lead a diverse, multi-sport federation of player unions to collectively improve <\/span>player<\/span> rights and representation globally.<\/span> It will look to<\/span> gradually <\/span>expand<\/span> capacity <\/span>in<\/span> new<\/span> areas such as commercialization and player assoc<\/span>iation <\/span>innovation<\/span> through the phased deve<\/span>lopment of a new entity<\/span>,<\/span> which will<\/span> be designed to<\/span> complement its <\/span>ongoing and <\/span>continuing<\/span> work\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span> UNI Global Union<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Tony Clark<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>President of World Players and Executive Director of the MLBPA<\/span><\/b> – <\/span>who had a multi-sport career as a collegiate basketball player and as a Major League\u00a0 baseball player for 15 years<\/span> emphasized the critical juncture of opportunities and momentum for player rights and representation globally, especially in women’s sport<\/span>,<\/span> a<\/span>nd the need to <\/span>build <\/span>the power of the player association movement through\u00a0 World Players<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Clark said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cThe MLBPA has examples of inflection points from our own 58-year history in which a group of players rallied together to change the tide for every player that came after them. But this doesn\u2019t happen by magic nor without struggle. <\/span><\/i>\u200b<\/span><\/i>If players aren’t supported<\/span><\/i> by their unions<\/span><\/i> to seize their chance at change they want to see, the nearest term opportunity may be lost.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>This is a real moment t<\/span><\/i>o empower and support the next generation\u00a0<\/span><\/i>of <\/span><\/i>players<\/span><\/i> – <\/span><\/i>along with their unions of all shapes and sizes and stages of development<\/span><\/i> – <\/span><\/i>to take their shot at organi<\/span><\/i>z<\/span><\/i>ing and creating a formal seat at the bargaining table.”\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Executive Committee approved <\/span>the affiliations of<\/span> the <\/span>Euro<\/span><\/b>League Players Association<\/span><\/b> (ELPA)<\/span><\/b> and the <\/span>Professional Tennis Players Association<\/span><\/b> (PTPA)<\/span><\/b>, a <\/span>further <\/span>sign that the organization is keen to grow<\/span>, convene and unify <\/span>player associations worldwide<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Executive Committee welcomed the appointment of <\/span>Camila Garcia<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>Global Board Member of FIFPRO (the global union for professional footballers)<\/span><\/b>, as First Vice President, replacing outgoing member Jonas Baer-Hoffman, and <\/span>Lloyd Howell, Jr.,<\/span><\/b> Executive Director of the National Football League Players Associations (NFLPA)<\/span><\/b>, as the replacement for outgoing member DeMaurice Smith. Processes have been established to onboard additional members, including filling vacancies needed to satisfy World Players\u2019 gender equality criteria.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Executive Committee appointed <\/span>Matthew Graham<\/span><\/b> as <\/span>Head of UNI World Players<\/span><\/b> to lead the organization\u2019s ongoing work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Graham <\/span><\/b>is a Switzerland-based, Australian labour lawyer, who was the interim Executive Director of World Players since May 2023, having previously <\/span>been<\/span> its <\/span>Director of\u00a0<\/span> L<\/span>egal <\/span>& <\/span>P<\/span>layer <\/span>R<\/span>elations<\/span>. Since joining World Players in November 2017, Matthew has played a key role in achieving important reforms to the World Anti-Doping Code; securing acknowledgement that athlete rights are worker rights at the International Labour Organization (ILO); and <\/span>played<\/span> a leading role in<\/span> the player association response to the Covid-19 pandemic<\/span>. He has\u00a0<\/span>significantly expanded <\/span>best practice sharing<\/span> between <\/span>affiliate<\/span>s in <\/span>ke<\/span>y <\/span>areas such as<\/span> organizing and bargaining,<\/span> commercialization and innovation,<\/span> and <\/span>women\u2019s sport<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Speaking on Graham\u2019s appointment, <\/span>Garcia <\/span><\/b>said, \u201c<\/span>Matt\u2019s stewardship over the past year<\/span><\/i>s<\/span><\/i> was just what the organization needed to come together with a unifying process and vision to take new chances. During this period, the Executive Committee has been impressed by Matt\u2019s ability to stay focused on the big picture to secure important breakthroughs on embedding player rights in global sport\u2019s commitments, while also ensuring affiliates and staff had unwavering support for the practical steps of laying the foundations for the next phase of our movement.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union<\/span><\/b>Scale and <\/span>growth<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
New affiliations<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Changes to the Ex Co<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
New <\/span>Leadership<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
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\r\nGraham<\/span><\/b> said, “<\/span>It is my immense privilege to have the Executive Committee\u2019s confidence to lead <\/span><\/i>World Players<\/span><\/i>.\u202f<\/span><\/i>The demands of player association work and the challenges facing the entire global sport industry are only intensifying and demand a u<\/span><\/i>nified <\/span><\/i>and <\/span><\/i>coordinated response<\/span><\/i>. At the same time, there <\/span><\/i>are<\/span><\/i> pockets of <\/span><\/i>abuse and <\/span><\/i>inequity in the global sport industry where player rights are not respected <\/span><\/i>which must be addressed through harnessing the collective power of the player association movement. I look forward to working with our affiliates<\/span><\/i> and likeminded allies<\/span><\/i> to achieve these common goals<\/span><\/i> and<\/span><\/i> build<\/span><\/i> a better<\/span><\/i> future<\/span><\/i> for players worldwide<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i>“\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n