KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NEW FIFA FOOTBALL AGENT REGULATIONS

After several debates and controversies, on 16th December 2022, the FIFA Council, approved the FIFA Football Agents Regulations that came into force on 9th January 2023. Some of the major objectives of these regulations are; to protect minors, enforce contractual responsibility and stability, protect the integrity of the transfer system, and achieve financial transparency.

The regulations came in a phased enforcement; the regulations to do with licensing of agents came into force on 9th January whereas the other regulations were enforced on 1st October, 2023. The regulations will be stringently enforced and any agent and prospective agent must be up to date with the regulations to avoid breach of the same that would result in fines and suspensions.

Some of the key aspects to note from the regulations are;

Enforcement of the regulations:

As already mentioned, the regulations came into enforcement in a phased way, on 9th January and 1st October 2023 for licensing of agents and the other regulations respectively. However, the other important factor to note about the enforcement of these regulations is that the next 2023 transfer window would be the last time the 2018 FIFA regulations on agents would be enforceable. It is also important to note that for any person to conduct business as an agent, they must be licensed by FIFA and have a valid license. This rule has an exception for representation contracts that were signed and came into force before 16th December. These contracts would be enforceable in their old version until their expiration dates.

How Can One Acquire a FIFA License:

The new regulations provide a new procedure for becoming an agent and acquiring the FIFA football agent license. Starting from 9th January 2023, anyone who desires to become a FIFA licensed agent will have to:

• Make an application on the FIFA Football Agents Portal
• Sit and pass the FIFA Agents Exam. The FIFA agents’ exam is held twice a year.
• Pay $600 for the FIFA Agents license.

Apart from this three-step procedure, the applicant must be able to fulfill these requirements for their license to be fully granted:

• Abide by all the FIFA Football Agents’ regulations
• No suspension record from the applicant’s football regulating body or any other
• The applicant should not have any interest in any academy, club, or league
• The applicant shouldn’t have any criminal record
• The applicant shouldn’t have been a shareholder or part of an entity that was declared bankrupt in the past 5years. Similarly, the individual shouldn’t have a similar record in the past five years

The exam is only applicable to those who were not registered under the 2018 regulations. This simply means that the old agents may not sit the exam but will have to abide by the other regulations such as no bankruptcy and no criminal record. No agent is expected to carry out business without a FIFA license.

Representation Contracts:

The regulations provide that an agent can only represent or act on behalf of a football client by written contract. The agent may not handle more than one client in one transaction and under one contract. The contracts signed before 16th December 2022 would remain enforceable until the time of their expiration, however, any contracts that were due for renewal after 16th December 2022, have to be renewed within the confines of the new regulations.

Before negotiating a representation contract, the agent must inform their football agent about contracting independent legal advice and the latter must respond to the agent in a written response as to whether they would be taking such legal advice. The contracts can only have a maximum of two years and can be automatically renewed; any agreement beyond this maximum time is null and void, and agreements concluded between clubs and agents have no maximum duration. The agent can only execute one contract at ago with the same client but can sign several other contracts for different transactions with different clubs.

Important to note is that agents are no longer permitted to represent more than two clients in a transaction. In the past an agent would represent the footballer, the releasing and engaging clubs, with the new regulations, the agent can only represent two clients; a footballer and a club in one transaction.

There has been a change to agents working under agency companies signing contracts with clients on behalf of the agency companies, the regulations are quite clear that even though the agent may be working for an agency company, the contracts can only be signed with their names and not the company’s name. This is because the regulations provide that only a natural person may come into a representation consequently barring artificial persons from signing such contracts.

The regulations also restrict clients (coaches and footballers) from entering into employment with a club without an agent, similarly, they restrict the same clients from concluding a contract autonomously. The regulations penalize anyone found to have autonomously entered into a contract of employment.

Representation contracts can be terminated by either party to the contracts under just cause.

Regulations Relating to Minors:

With the need to recruit the best talent as early as possible, there are possibilities of minors being at risk of exploitation by agents, which explains why the regulations seek to protect minors.

Before an agent signs a contract with a minor, they are required to undergo CPD on minors training and comply with any requirement to represent a minor established by the law applicable in the territory where the minor will be employed.

Agents are restricted from contracting minors without written consent of the legal guardian or representative of the minor 6 months before the legal age of signing the first professional contract by the regulations of the territory the minor intends to be employed. The agent is not permitted to receive any commission from the minor for representation unless it is the first employment contract the minor is signing.

Breach of these rules would result in paying fine fees and up to two years suspension of license.

Who Pays Agent Fees and How Much Must Be Paid:

The regulations introduced a cap on the agent fees and also aimed at having the same recorded on the FIFA portal and would most likely be published. One of the key changes in this section of the regulations is that footballers and managers will be responsible for paying the agent fees unless their remuneration is below $ 200,000. Payments to the agent may start after the close of the transfer window and would be paid every three months until the expiration of the negotiated contract.

The regulations stipulate that 3% off remuneration below $200,000 may be payable to the agent from an individual’s remuneration payable by the engaging club and the individual. The agent may be paid 6% off remuneration that is above $ 200,000 by the engaging club and the individual. In cases of dual representation, the agent may take 6% and 10% off remuneration below $200.000 and above $200.000 respectively. A releasing club may pay 10% off the transfer fees.

An agent cannot receive commission off conditional fees and any other allowances of the client, all commissions are calculated and deducted from the gross pay of the client. Only payment received by an individual shall be considered to be the payment of commission. An agent may not receive any payment of commission off monies not yet paid to the individual by the club. The agent may not receive any commission from an individual until it is due even if the individual has transferred to another club, however, the client may pay such errs when it is due even if they have transferred to another club. This may only happen during the negotiated contract.

In a nutshell, the new regulations are more stringent and protective of managers, footballers, and clubs. Some of the rules may be a basis for disputes between clients and agents due to misconstruction and ambiguity in some cases, however, FIFA looks forward to constituting a panel to handle such disputes arising between clients and agents. Footballers and Managers must acquaint themselves with their rights and responsibilities under the regulations similarly as the agents must, due to the crucial changes.

You can read the regulations here: FIFA Football Agent Regulations can be accessed here.