The Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionels (UNFP; English: National Union of Professional Footballers) is the main

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

for professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

players in France. It was founded on 16 November 1961 by

Eugène N'Jo Léa Eugène N'Jo Léa (15 July 1931 – 23 October 2006) was a Cameroonian professional footballer who played in France with Saint-Étienne, Lyon and Racing Paris. Personal life His son is fellow player William N'Jo Léa. With Just Fontaine he fou ...

and Just Fontaine, two footballers, and Jacques Bertrand, a jurist. As of May 2021, the presidents of the UNFP are Philippe Piat and

Sylvain Kastendeuch Sylvain Pierre Kastendeuch (born 31 August 1963) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was capped nine times by the France national team. He is the player with the sixth-most appearances in the French champions ...

. Each month, a

trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...

is awarded by the UNFP to the best players in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

and

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue ...

. At the end of each season, the Trophées UNFP awards the best

and

players, managers and referees of the season. Since 1990, during the summer, the UNFP organizes training sessions for players whose contracts have ended but have not found new teams.

Presidents

*1961–1964: Just Fontaine *1964–1969: Michel Hidalgo *1969–2006: Philippe Piat *2006–present: Philippe Piat &

Presidents

See also