The Arsenal midfielder Kim Little is only 29 but is already thinking about her legacy. “As I’m getting older and have been in the game longer, I keep thinking about how I want to contribute and give back to the game,” says the playmaker.
Little still has plenty in her legs, the captain currently guiding Arsenal through four competitions, but she is one of the athletes to have joined Fifpro’s new players’ union, a global players’ council, with an eye to how she can make a broader impact on the game that has given her so much.
“Football is such a huge part of our lives,” she says. “It’s given us the opportunity to do a job, a profession, where it never really feels like you’re working, it’s just pure enjoyment. So it’s natural to want to give back and to want to move the game forward, especially with how it’s developed and how it has gone from amateur to professional in quite a short space of time. You want to keep that going and you want to keep providing a place where women and girls can have the opportunity that we have.”
There are 14 – male and female – players in the inaugural union, though there will be a fluidity to the structure. From the women’s game the list includes Lyon’s Saki Kumagai and England’s Jodie Taylor and lesser known players from developing leagues such as Argentina’s Gabriela Garton.
Little has felt the absence of such a union to turn to in her career. “I think as the game has developed, yes. For me, the development of the game, playing in Scotland, in different countries and different scenarios, with the different challenges there have been in different working environments, have shown me the need for something like this. And this is just the starting point.”
A diverse body was an attractive feature for Little – who, while injured, was involved in the Scottish national team’s stalemate with the FA over their terms and conditions going into the 2017 European Championship finals – because it gives players the opportunity to link up their struggles.
“Our game has changed so dramatically in the last five to 10 years and gone through quite a transition. That’s great, and positive, but it also means things have come so quickly and this is a good opportunity to discuss the issues, the growth of the game, the contrast in different environments and what differs from club to club.
“The players’ council gives us the ability to provide support and backing so you don’t feel like it’s just the players fighting for better environments for their national teams alone. It helps provide a bigger picture which is really empowering, knowing you’ve got the backing of not just the people in your team or country but of the profession from a much bigger, global perspective.”
The New Zealand international and member of Fifpro’s policy team, Sarah Gregorius, who recruited Little to the union, says the council also “gives an opportunity for stakeholders to listen directly to a player’s voice and to get an understanding of their impression of where things are at and where things should be moving”.
She adds: “Particularly for women’s football, with the growth that we’ve seen over recent months to years, ensuring that we have the players’ voices at the heart of this was really important. The council is a really great mechanism and a really great forum for us to do that.”
Women have been taking action for better pay, conditions, professionalism and against abuses in increasing numbers in football, from the Afghanistan women’s national team fighting the abuses suffered by their players to the US team battling to be rewarded for their successes in line with what the men would receive should they reach the same heights.
As the global players’ union, Fifpro wants to put itself at the forefront of aiding and connecting players going through these disputes. “The knowledge sharing that can happen between the players is hugely valuable, giving an insight into what other national teams are doing, what’s happening in other leagues and what someone’s individual experience has been in another country,” says Gregorius. “When it comes to having a stand on certain issues there is a genuine opportunity for that as well. Football is very dynamic, things are happening all the time, and I think being able to form these opinions and share experience can really help to solidify strategies and understandings that can elevate the voices of the players – and put them in situations where they can start to affect the decision makers as well.”
Getting players involved is tough. The union has had to battle with conflicting team schedules and national team calendars to bring the players together. But equally, getting players to buy into the idea was not hard.
“All of the players I’ve spoken to have been immediately excited about the possibilities and believe passionately that there is certainly a need for players to stand up for each other,” says Gregorius. “I’ve been really impressed by that spirit of unionism I suppose. I don’t think it’s a difficult concept for players to grasp, standing together and things like that. I’ve been really impressed by the genuine passion and desire to roll their sleeves up and get to work. It’s been an easy sell.”