The Association Football Players' and Trainers' Union (AFPTU), commonly known as the Players' Union, in the United Kingdom was the original

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

that became the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sports trade union, with approximately 5,000 current members each seaso ...

. Their stated aims were freedom of movement of players and obtaining the same employment rights as other workers. The Players' Union was formed at a meeting on 2 December 1907 when

Charlie Roberts Charles Roberts (6 April 1883 – 7 August 1939) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-half in the Football League for Grimsby Town, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He spent nine years at United, where he was cap ...

and

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

(who had been involved in the AFU) convened the organisation of the Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union (‘AFPTU’) (which the press called "The Players' Union") at the Imperial Hotel,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. This was the second attempt at the unionisation of professional football players after the failure of the

Association Footballers' Union The Association Footballers' Union (the AFU), formed in England in 1898, was the first attempt by football players in the United Kingdom to organize themselves into a union. The AFU was formed in response to the introduction by the Football Lea ...

which dissolved itself in 1901. This Union was formed because the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

had ratified a maximum wage for footballers in 1901 at £4 (''2012: £'') . This severely limited the opportunity to earn wages that allowed the best players in the country to forgo the need to take paid employment outside of football. Until then, individual clubs had set their own wage policies throughout the country. The Union, basically, led from where the previous AFU had left the situation: that is by challenging the introduction of a maximum wage and the restraint on transfers. The Union were almost ruined financially and membership fell drastically as a result of '' Kingaby v Aston Villa''. They had funded the legal costs of

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

Herbert Kingaby Herbert Charles Lawrence Kingaby (1880-1934) was an English footballer, an outside rightThe Manchester Guardian, ''FOOTBALL PROFESSIONAL'S LAWSUIT''; 27 March 1912 for Clapton Orient, Aston Villa, Fulham and Peterborough City. He played part- ...

, but erroneous strategy by the player's counsel resulted in the suit being dismissed.David McArdle,

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

,
The Football League's player registration scheme and the Kingaby case
'', accessed 16 December 2012 Outcasts fc 1909 postcard

The Union's objectives were made clear in 1909, and this caused

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

to withdraw their recognition of the Union, which at that time sought to join the General Federation of Trade Unions. The Union threatened strike action but the Football Association responded by banning those affiliated with the AFPTU ''

sine die Adjournment ''sine die'' (from Latin 'without a date') is the conclusion of a meeting by a deliberative assembly, such as a legislature or organizational board, without setting a date to reconvene. The assembly can reconvene, either in its pres ...

''. The

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

players continued to strike but the lack of resolve elsewhere would have led to the failure of this movement if it had not been for

Tim Coleman John George "Tim" Coleman MM (26 October 1881 – 20 November 1940) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Kettering Town, Northampton Town, Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Queen Park Range ...

of Everton breaking ranks with his colleagues and striking in support of what the press had classified as The Outcasts F.C. at Manchester United Coleman's intervention resuscitated support for the cause and the Union, having regained its strength of numbers, settled for official recognition and the allowing of bonus payments in order to supplement the maximum wage. These were essentially conciliatory gestures; the maximum wage remained a yoke under which players suffered for the next 50 years.

Footnotes

References

* * Harding, John, Behind the Glory: A History of the PFA. DB Publishing; First paperback edition (10 Mar. 2014) Language: English * Harding John, Football Wizard, The Story of Billy Meredith. Empire Publications (28 April 2014) Language: English {{ISBN, 978-1859836828 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Association football trade unions Trade unions established in 1907 1907 establishments in the United Kingdom