FIFA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FIFPro that will give the global players’ union an equal say on football’s international transfer rules and player-welfare policies.The landmark deal will see the creation of a new committee that gives FIFPro a veto over key areas of the game’s governance for the first time.It also hands the Amsterdam-based body, which represents over 70 national players’ unions, several wins in terms of player-friendly changes to FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).For example, any club that forces an unwanted player to train alone in an attempt to force them out, can now expect a breach-of-contract claim. If the breach is proven, the club will have to settle the player’s full contract and pay them damages.The agreement was announced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in a press conference on Wednesday, the eve of the World Cup.“We’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with FIFPro,” he said. “It’s good news, it’s about unity. We don’t always agree on everything but now we have an agreement with the players’ union, EFC (European Football Clubs) and World Leagues on a new version of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.”Another victory for the players is FIFA’s support for mandatory, off-season rest periods for players, although some unions, most notably England’s Professional Footballers’ Association, are still concerned the governing body is retaining control of the international match calendar.In return for these concessions, FIFPro has agreed to drop all of the complaints it has made against FIFA at the European Commission.Between FIFPro and the various national associations, FIFA was facing seven different claims, ranging from a complaint about a lack of consultation on the introduction of the expanded Club World Cup, to issues related to former France midfielder Lassana Diarra’s successful challenge against aspect of the RSTP at the European Court of Justice in 2024.The full implications of Diarra’s victory remain a matter of debate within the game but this MoU announcement comes in the same week that Diarra and FIFA announced they had mutually settled their decade-long row over his contentious exit from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014.That settlement, however, does not mean the Diarra case is over, as 20 national players’ unions have signed up to a class action against FIFA led by a Dutch-based group called Justice for Players. It believes that more than 100,000 players lost approximately eight per cent of their earnings between 2002 and 2024.The next stage in that story remains uncertain, though, with some experts believing it will eventually lead to the end of the transfer system as we know it, while others saying the changes FIFA has already made have brought the regulations into compliance with EU competition law and everyone can calm down.FIFA president Gianni Infantino will certainly be hoping that his olive branch to FIFPro will lead to a period of calm after years of bitter relations between his organisation and the unions, with both sides accusing the other of bad faith and poor governance.It also gives Infantino some respite after months of mainly negative news about FIFA and the World Cup, which starts in Mexico City on Thursday.This week alone, the stories have been about American investigations into claims FIFA has been manipulating ticket prices, Africa’s best referee being denied a visa on security concerns, fears about an escalation in the US-Iran conflict, strikes and shootings. Signs that a giant party, to which everyone has been invited, have been hard to spot.