Player power: Mbappe, FFF and Image rights.

What happened between Mbappe, the FFF and his image rights?

The dispute regarding the use of Mbappe's image rights and his demand for control over the choice of commercial partners to represent has been going on for a while now.

Today this dispute has reached its climax with Mbappe refusing to particpate in a French national team photoshoot with a sponsor ahead of the 2022 Fifa world cup.

Mbappe initially refused to take part in it as he is unhappy representing and endorsing certain brands such as fast food and betting companies. The FFF has sponsorship deals with companies like KFC, Uber Eats, Coca-cola and betting company Betclic.

The FFF's sponsors were extremely unhappy with the news and the FFF felt obliged to cater to the demands of the player and released a statement saying the following:

'Following conclusive discussions with the French team's executives, the president, the coach and a marketing manager, the FFF has undertaken to revise, as soon as possible, the agreement on image rights that binds it to its national team players.' “looking forward to working on the outlines of a new agreement that will enable it to protect its interests while taking into consideration the legitimate concerns and convictions unanimously expressed by the players.”

It is reported the current collective agreement on image rights, which dates back from 2010, entitles the FFF to make full use of the French player’s image rights during marketing operations in exchange for €25.000 for every international match they play.

As a a response and sign of good faith, Mbappe has finally decided to take part in the photoshoot. End good, all good.

Could this establish precedent for other players standing up and claiming back control over their image rights in relation to their national associations?