[3] On 15 December 1965, representatives of the French, Scottish, English, Italian and Dutch players' associations met in Paris, with the objective of setting up an international federation for footballers.

[4] FIFPRO has grown from a European organisation into a global network and has done much to support countries on other continents – Asia/Oceania, Africa, and North, Central and South America – in their efforts to set up players' associations.

[7][8] He claims this leads to these players being "vulnerable targets of crime syndicates, who instigate match-fixing and threaten the very existence of credible football competitions".

[6] Writing for the BBC, Matt Slater said "professional footballers do not enjoy the same freedoms that almost every other EU worker does",[9] and that "players look at US sport, and wonder why their career prospects are still constrained by transfer fees and compensation costs".

These minimum conditions, agreed upon by FIFA and other governing bodies, offer women more job security and came into effect on 1 January 2021.

[14] In the last five years, FIFPRO has repeatedly intervened to protect and enforce the rights of players to participate in an environment free from sexual misconduct, harassment, and abuse.

[16] FIFPRO’s member unions in June 2024 approved by an overwhelming majority governance recommendations to enhance the global representation of professional footballers following a review by management consultancy Oliver Wyman.

[19][20] Upon graduation to the next level, new members sign an affiliation agreement that promotes loyalty, integrity and fairness as well as principles of good governance, including open and transparent communications, democratic processes, checks and balances, solidarity and corporate social responsibility.

In 2008 FIFPRO established its Merit Award, to recognise professional footballers who have made a significant contribution to a charitable cause and are socially engaged.