It upholds the legality of the fund and dismisses the claim of other unions that do not offer this benefit

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Supreme Court upholds AFE's ‘End of Career Fund’ for professional footballers

The Supreme Court has upheld the management of the ‘End of Career Fund’, promoted by the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), aimed at guaranteeing financial benefits to professional footballers at the end of their sporting career, in cases of permanent disability or death.

The ruling ratifies the legality of the fund and underlines that any trade union can establish exclusive benefits for its members with its own resources, without this violating the right to freedom of association. In this way, the Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit filed in 2022 by FUTBOLISTAS ON and FUTPRO, unions that do not finance this type of guarantees for their members.

What is the ‘End of Career Fund’?

Since 2016, AFE receives a share of 0.5% of the revenue generated by the audiovisual rights of professional competitions, under an agreement with LALIGA endorsed by the National Court.

These funds are allocated to various initiatives for the protection and promotion of football players, including training, health care and financial support in emergency situations. Among these initiatives is the ‘Fondo Fin de Carrera’, created to offer financial stability to footballers at the end of their professional career.

Beneficiaries include players in the First and Second Men's Division, First RFEF and Second RFEF, ensuring that they can access financial compensation upon retirement.

Extension of the fund to women's football

With the professionalisation of the women's football league in 2021, AFE extended the ‘End of Career Fund’ to include female players, financing this entitlement from its own resources until the women's competition can allocate a similar percentage of its audiovisual rights revenue.

In 2022, the union reformed the regulations to ensure equal conditions for male and female footballers, maintaining its commitment to offer full coverage to its members. In parallel, AFE has developed the ‘Plan Futuro’, a savings fund aimed at male and female players in non-professional categories, such as Third Federation, First Federation FUTFEM and Second Federation FUTFEM.

Supreme Court ruling and its impact

The Supreme Court ruling, together with the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office, reinforces the legitimacy of the ‘Fondo Fin de Carrera’ and rejects the challenge of FUTBOLISTAS ON and FUTPRO, which sought to question the exclusivity of this benefit for AFE affiliates.

The ruling underlines that no union is obliged to finance this type of guarantee if it does not consider it appropriate, so that the creation of its own funds for its members does not constitute discrimination or affect freedom of association.