Trust relaunch puts PFA in the spotlight
THE relaunch of the Players Trust to provide an all-round service to professional footballers also pointed to the failings of the Professional Footballers Association in that direction.
The Players Trust, whose re-birth took place in the House of Commons yesterday, is an independent, not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to empower players and their families to make informed decisions about every aspect of their footballing careers.
But the question being asked in Westminster was why there is a need for such a charitable trust when the PFA, funded from the Premier League and FA TV rights deals, have so much money they could afford to pay chief executive Gordon Taylor a £3.4m package in 2014 and a seven-figure salary for the last decade at least. The PFA, along with the FA, Premier League and Football League, were all invited to the Whitehall launch, but none sent a representative. Trust director Paul Lowe called their absence ‘very disappointing’, and added: ‘If there wasn’t a crying need for such an all-round service in football, we wouldn’t have set it up.’
Lowe said he had an ‘amicable’ meeting with the PFA but was told afterwards they considered they provided the services themselves. When asked if the PFA did anything like enough work in this field, Lowe replied: ‘No comment.’
Former Minister of Sport Richard Caborn also expressed his disappointment at the football family’s no show, saying: ‘Players should be asking their union questions.’
Taylor said: ‘We will always listen to new ideas that help our members and have met the new trust and in its former guise, the players programme. We are transparent and audited in everything we do and where our money goes.’ The FA and Premier League said their invitations came late.
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