Meet The Team: Barbara Monzerrat Mere Carrion

Barbara joined FIFPRO in September 2022.?

In this series, we'll be introducing you to the great people who work at @FIFPRO.?

Tell us about yourself, what is your current role, and what’s your background??

My full name is Barbara Monzerrat Mere Carrion, it sounds like a telenovela name, which goes well with where I am from: Mexico. But people call me Barb, Barbs, or Barby.??

I have been in love with football since I was six. I remember playing with my brother and at school, always being the only girl amongst boys until I was at least 12. I was never afraid to be the only girl nor to fight for what I wanted; I get that from my mum. Both my parents are lawyers, and despite me not being sure if I wanted to study law as well – because I wanted to go into sports – I am grateful I decided to do so because I found my way back to football through it. ?

I started at FIFPRO as an intern after my masters, and thankfully I was given the opportunity to stay after my internship. I am now a Junior Legal Counsel, a sports lawyer fighting for players' rights.?

What do you do at FIFPRO? What does an average week look like??

Part of FIFPRO's legal department day-to-day activities involve talking to players and offering legal advice, helping them with ongoing or upcoming contractual disputes, working side-by-side with our members in figuring out the best strategies to defend and protect players, and a lot of writing and reading. Yes… a lot of reading. It might sound tedious, siting in front of a computer for hours, but the satisfaction after winning a case for a player who was trapped in a foreign country with unpaid wages is very fulfilling, it reenergises you for the next case and makes those hours count.?

What are you aiming to achieve with the work you do??

I aim to help as many players and win as many cases as I can, advising them to the best of my abilities and be the best lawyer I can be, which at the moment means working mostly on a small scale. What I aim to achieve both at a small and large scale in the future, is to: improve the life and conditions of players as workers, help to improve the system so they can focus on playing, provide excellent legal advice, have an impact on players as individuals and as a collective, help to create better reporting mechanisms, fight against abuse and discrimination in football (and sports in general), and help improve the women's game. The better protected their rights, the less they are likely to get into lengthy legal proceedings, and the more we can focus on preventing human and labour rights violations.?

Professionally, what are you excited about right now??

Currently, my main objective is to keep growing and learning. Not only from my colleagues in the legal department but also from other departments and our members. The more I get involved in conversations, the more I get excited about the upcoming years, and I am particularly excited to see how the women's game continues to grow and the opportunities that will follow.?

If you could change one thing about football, what would it be??

Gender inequalities, discrimination, LGBTQIA+ phobia, and abuse. Unfortunately, we deal with cases of abuse, and this is one of the saddest parts of the job. This beautiful game is highly impacted by these issues, but I trust that the work we do is helping the cause.?

What do you do to relax??

I am not going to lie, I enjoy laying on the couch watching TV, especially after an exhausting day, but I also love working out. Whether it is yoga, kickboxing, or (of course) football, stress-relief through exercise is the best way for me to relax. I also love going to the movies, playing videogames, cooking, finding new bars and restaurants to visit with friends, clearing my mind with podcasts, and travelling (which is always at the top of my list).?

How can people follow what you get up to??

You can find me on Instagram – @Barbara_MereCarrion.?