FIFA wants to protect young players, so they made rules that agents can't contact players who are under 18 until six months before they can sign their first professional contract. This is different in different countries. Agents also need to get permission from the player's parents or guardians before talking to them.
Agents also can't get paid for working with players who are under 18 unless they are signing their first professional contract.
Before working with young players or clubs to sign young players, agents have to take a special class about working with young players and follow any laws that are in place in the country where the player will be playing.
If agents break these rules, they can be fined and lose their license for up to two years.
What are the requirements to become an agent?
In order to be a football agent, you must meet certain rules. You cannot have a criminal record for certain crimes such as organized crime, drug trafficking, corruption, bribery, money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, match manipulation, misappropriation of funds, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, forgery, legal malpractice, sexual abuse, violent crimes, harassment, exploitation or child or vulnerable young adult trafficking.
You also can't have been suspended or disqualified by any organization for breaking rules related to ethics and professional conduct. You cannot be an official or employee of FIFA, a confederation, a member association, a league, a club, a body that represents the interests of clubs or leagues or any organisation connected directly or indirectly with such organizations and entities. You also can't hold any interest in a club, academy or league.
In the last 24 months before you apply for a license, you cannot have been working as an agent without a license. In the last 5 years before you apply for a license, you cannot have declared bankruptcy or been a majority shareholder, director or key office holder of a business that has declared bankruptcy, entered administration and/or undergone liquidation. In the last 12 months before you apply for a license, you cannot have held any interest in any entity, company or organisation that brokers, arranges or conducts sports betting activities.
If you don't meet these requirements, you will not be able to take the test to become an agent and your application for a license will be denied. If you don't follow these rules after getting a license, your license may be suspended or taken away.
Can agents represent more than one player in the same deal?
One of the most talked-about changes in the new rules is that agents can't represent more than one person or team in a deal. This is different from how it is now, where agents can represent multiple parties in a deal.
But under the new rules, an agent can only represent one person or team in a deal, unless they are representing both a player and the team they are signing with. This means that agents can't represent a player, the team they are leaving and the team they are signing with, or a player and the team they are leaving, in the same deal.
Agents can't get around this rule by working with other agents in the same agency or by making agreements with other agents to represent multiple parties in a deal.
What is the commission cap?
The new rules say that agents can only charge a certain amount of money for their services. This amount is different depending on how much money the player makes and who the agent is working for.
- If a player makes less than $200,000 a year, the agent can charge 5% of their salary.
- If a player makes more than $200,000 a year, the agent can charge 3% of their salary.
- If an agent is working for a team that is signing a player, they can charge 5% or 3% of the player's salary.
- If an agent is working for both the player and the team signing them, they can charge 10% or 6% of the player's salary.
- If an agent is working for the team that is selling a player, they can charge 10% of the money the team is getting for the player.
This is the money the agent can charge for their services only, not including any extra perks like cars, houses or phones. It also does not include any bonuses for good performance or loyalty. A team can only pay half of the total amount of money the agent is charging.
Who can pay fees to agents?
A big change in the new rules is that teams can't pay for agents' fees for players unless the player makes less than $200,000 a year. Right now, it's common for teams to pay for agents' fees, but with this new rule, it will change the way things are done for a lot of players who make more than $200,000 a year.
FIFA thinks that by making players pay for their own agents' fees, it will make the fees lower, but it might also lead to players asking for more money to make up for the extra expense they'll have to pay. This change could also cause more problems between players and agents.
What are the restrictions as to when the agent commission is due paid?
The new rules say that when a team or player pays their agent, it has to be done in parts every three months for the whole time of the contract. The agent will only get paid for the money the player or team actually got paid. So, if the team or player hasn't been paid yet, the agent won't get paid either.
Also, if a player gets transferred to another team before their contract is up, the agent won't get paid for the time they didn't work for the player. When a team sells a player, they will pay their agent after they get each part of the money they are getting for selling the player.
Additional changes being proposed?
One of the big changes that are happening is that everything involving agents, like contracts and agreements, have to be sent to FIFA. Also, all payments have to go through a special system that FIFA is using so they know who's getting paid and for what. FIFA might even share some of that information with others.
FIFA is also creating a special group to handle any problems that come up between agents from different countries. This is good news for everyone involved because sometimes it's hard to make things right when it happens across different countries and it can be costly and take a long time to go to the sports court.
