Shaun Murphy says professional snooker players have “a list as long as your arm” of potential changes they would like to see after the establishment of a new body to represent their interests.
The formation of the independent Professional Snooker Players’ Association (PSPA) was announced in August, with the stated intention of giving players “a stronger voice” to “champion the sport”.
Four-time world champion John Higgins is the PSPA’s chairman, with a number of leading players – including world number one Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, Murphy, Mark Allen and Mark Selby – on the players’ board.
The association claims the governance of snooker “should factor in more of the views of the players”.
It vowed to foster a “collaborative relationship” with the sport’s authorities, including the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the existing WPBSA Players’ Board, and World Snooker Tour (WST) “to enhance the sport’s future, while safeguarding player welfare and commercial interests”.
The WPBSA’s own players’ body was formed in 2020, and the governing body says it has “a specific mandate to act in the collective best interest of members in relation to welfare and issues affecting the professional game”.
Former world champion Murphy resigned from his role as WPBSA Players chairman in February to focus more on his playing career and other interests off the table.
The 43-year-old now believes the PSPA represents the best way forward for players to have input into decisions affecting the sport.
“The new body has a long way to go but one of the big things it has… is that it’s totally independent,” Murphy told BBC Sport after beating David Lilley 4-0 in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
“The way the game is funded – and the way the WPBSA earns its money and the way that funnels into WPBSA Players – it can never be truly independent of the people it’s trying to negotiate with and make the game better for the players.”
Murphy previously served on the main WPBSA Board – the governing body which works in tandem with the commercial WST – from 2017-19 and was elected to the WPBSA Players Board in December 2023, becoming chairman in May 2024.
He also joined the WPBSA Board in February 2024 as a non-executive player director.
