Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) hosted its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday night with over 150 A-League players in attendance from all over the country.
Conducted in Melbourne, the AGM took place with the Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory squads in attendance, along with players in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and both teams in Sydney linked into the meeting via video conference, kindly made possible by PriceWaterhouseCoopers facilities across the country.
Players in Wellington, the Central Coast and Newcastle also gathered in their numbers to listen in and contribute via local teleconference facilities.
All A-League players were represented in person or by proxy in what was the largest attendance ever by players at a PFA AGM.
The players’ attendance reflects the high-level of engagement, interest and solidarity there is among the playing group as negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) begin with Football Federation Australia (FFA).
Socceroos Mark Milligan and Matt Mckay were voted onto the PFA Executive, filling the vacancies left through the retirement of Chris Coyne and the end of Tim Cahill’s 4 year term on the Executive. Their contributions were acknowledged by the PFA President Simon Colosimo and for their continued dedication to the work of PFA.
Following the AGM formalities, PFA Legal Counsel Brendan Schwab presented to the players in detail on CBA related matters, outlining the key objectives and strategy for the negotiations, highlighting the importance of creating a genuine career path for professional footballers that provides them with the tools to successfully move into life after their playing careers.
Talks were not limited to the A-League, with Socceroos and Matildas matters also discussed and Melissa Barbieri and Sarah Walsh represented the women’s national team and W-League.
Meanwhile, players across the country put their team allegiances aside and took to Twitter with their messages of support and solidarity using the official hash tag #PFAAGM.
PFA President Simon Colosimo summed up the afternoon, “to see our members come together in such numbers shows the high-level of engagement and collectiveness there is among the group. Once again the players showed the clear understanding they have of the challenges we face. I take this opportunity to thank all of the players for their ongoing contribution and support ”.
