Ivorian footballers - FIF says no to Marc Zoro
Union of Côte d'Ivoire footballers: Marc Zoro, the FIF says no. UFPCI and AFI, defending players' rights
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A new footballers' union has existed for two years, but news of its existence was only revealed on 5 October by its founder. What's more, it was not until 24 October 2022 that Zoro Marc officially told the Ivorian public that he was heading this new body for the defence of players' rights. "We wish to inform you of the creation of the Union of Professional Footballers of Côte d'Ivoire, abbreviated to UFPCI. The UFPCI is an association under Ivorian law whose mission is to defend the rights of professional footballers in Côte d'Ivoire and to ensure their contracts are strictly respected. Rightly so, it is firmly committed to improving players' living conditions, ensuring clubs honour their employment contracts, guaranteeing them social security and, finally, taking women's football in Côte d'Ivoire into account.
The standing of football in our country requires everyone's involvement," wrote the former Benfica Lisbon (Portugal) defender in a press release. In response, on 25 October 2022, FIF president Idriss Diallo felt the need to set the record straight, reminding everyone that the Federation "recognises only one association per interest group". In plain terms, for Idriss Diallo the only body that exists is the Association of Ivorian Footballers (AFI), led by Cyril Domoraud. "I am not seeking recognition from the Ivorian football federation, my aim is not to be an interest group, but rather to help and defend the rights of Ivorian footballers. The UFPCI is recognised by FIFPro, and FIFA only recognises player associations affiliated to FIFPro. I can work with the federation since it is necessary, but now if the federation refuses, it could receive notifications from FIFA. How that will play out, I don't know. The UFPCI is an independent association, the article the federation is relying on concerns interest groups and I don't feel it applies to me…", the former Elephants defender nonetheless countered on a private television channel, speaking about the new union of active footballers.
Sanh Séverin