Education
In this role, Schwab regularly attended hearings in Zurich, as part of a panel to adjudicate disputes between professional football players and clubs.
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Brendan Schwab
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Career
He is also Chairman of FIFPro Asia/Oceania, which represents players" associations in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Palestine and New Zealand. In 2002, he became one of FIFPro"s inaugural nominees to the Fédération internationale de football association Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) and in 2009 was reappointed to that body for a four-year term. In 2013, he stepped down from the DRC to join the Fédération internationale de football association Players" Status Committee which is charged with making recommendations to the Fédération internationale de football association Executive Committee on regulations that affect professional football players.
He is one of six player nominees on this Committee which regularly meets at Fédération internationale de football association House in Zurich.
Schwab worked alongside Fédération internationale de football association Vice President Prince Ali Bin First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Hussein of Jordan to lift a ban imposed by Fédération internationale de football association on female football players wearing the hijab during football matches. In 1993, he co-founded the Australian Professional Football players" Association (PFA) which reprsesents Australia"s elite professional football players plying their trade in Australia and around the world.
He was the long serving Chief Executive and General Counsel of the PFA, overseeing its progression during the past 20 years. In mid 2012, he decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer of the PFA and established International Player Relations (Intellectual Property Rights), a specialist legal, advocacy and advisory firm, which focuses on promoting cooperation and innovation between employees and employers.
American Automobile Association represents eight player unions and over 3,500 athletes in sports such as American Federation of Labor-Congress, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, netball, horse racing (jockeys) and, of course, football.
He presently acts as the American Automobile Association’s part-time General Secretary. Since 1992, he has forged a close professional relationship with Braham Dabscheck, Australia"s leading academic on the industrial relations aspects of professional team sports. In 1998, they undertook an organisational review of the American Federation of Labor-Congress Players" Association which transformed that body.
Their latest project was assisting the Rugby League Players" Association in the negotiation of a new five year collective bargaining agreement following the sport"s record broadcast rights agreement.
They are presently leading the PFA"s College of Business Administration negotiations for A-League, Socceroos and Matildas players. Schwab has also held non-executive positions on the Board of an industry super fund, the peak body for Australia"s symphony orchestras and has been a director and Vice President of an American Federation of Labor-Congress Club.
He has also held senior positions in the entertainment industry including as Chief Executive Officer of Live Performance Australia from 2003 - 2006 and represented media and entertainment employers at the International Labor Organisation in Geneva in 2004. He is a vocal campaigner in media circles often sought for comment on football matters, broader athlete issues such as drugs in sport, match fixing and player welfare and development.
He provided evidence before Senate Hearings into ASADA in 2013 and Australian soccer in 1995 and is a regular presenter at industry conferences and sports law seminars.
In February 2013, he was a guest speaker at the Fédération internationale de football association/Interpol Conference on Match Fixing in Malaysia. Schwab holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Business Administration.
Achievements
Membership
He is a Vice President and board member of FIFPro, the world football players" union based in the Netherlands which represents an estimated 65 thousand professional football players.
