Jonas Baer-Hoffmann is General Secretary of FIFPRO, the only global organisation that represents the interests of professional footballers – uniting the voice of 65,000 women and men players, prioritising their needs and supporting them to optimise their working environments and overall personal well-being.
Baer-Hoffmann leads a team of 45 staff from FIFPRO’s global headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and is one of global football’s leading executives driving forward the organisation’s mission to support its 60+ national member players associations. This includes implementing systemic improvements for players through robust negotiations with FIFA, confederations, leagues, clubs and governments – tackling key issues such as salary disputes, contract negotiations, discrimination and sexual abuse and employment conditions.
Baer-Hoffmann simultaneously occupies the position of First Vice-President of the World Players Association – the leading union voice of 85,000 global professional athletes across different sports from more than 100 national player associations promoting greater governance and integrity. In this role, Baer-Hoffmann creates impactful player advocacy policies alongside the leadership of the major US league player associations (NBPA, NFLPA, MLBPA, NHLPA), as well as the representative global player organisations in other sports including rugby and cricket.
Spending his entire professional life immersed in the player union industry, Baer-Hoffmann is deeply passionate about the protection of an individual’s occupational and human rights and improving the collective strength of athletes in sport. He joined FIFPRO in 2012 as a Policy Officer aged 24 and quickly progressed through several senior positions before being appointed General Secretary at the start of 2020.
Baer-Hoffmann’s career highlights: