Understanding the New Rules for Football Agents: What You Need to Know
The new rules for football agents, made by FIFA, have finally been approved and will start on January 9th, 2023. These new rules are meant to make the system better by making sure people follow contracts, protecting the way players are transferred, and making sure there is more financial transparency.
The main changes are that agents will have to take a test and get a license, there will be a limit on how much agents can charge, and limits on how many players one agent can represent. It’s really important for people who work in football to know about these changes so they can be prepared.
The new FIFA Football Agent Regulations can be found here.
The new rules for football agents are coming in two parts. The first part, which includes rules about becoming a football agent and taking a test, will start on January 9th, 2023. But the rest of the rules, like only using licensed agents and limits on how much they can charge, won’t start until October 1st, 2023.
This means that the summer transfer window in 2023 will be the last one with the old rules. After that, all agents will have to be licensed before they can work. To get a license, agents will have to submit an application online, pass a test, pay a fee, and follow certain rules. The test will only happen a few times a year and the application window for the test in 2023 are January 9th to March 15th and May 1st to July 31st.
If an agent was licensed under the old rules and has been registered since April 1st, 2015, they won’t have to take the test. The FIFA license will allow agents to work with clients all over the world. Only natural persons can get a license and only licensed agents can work directly with clients. Agencies can’t get a license, but agents can still work through them.
What are the requirements for representation contracts?
The new rules say that football agents can only work with a player, coach, or club if they have a written agreement called a representation contract.
This means that any agreements made before December 16th, 2022 will still be valid until the end, but any new agreements or renewals made after that date have to follow the new rules starting October 1st, 2023. This means that agents will have to make sure that the agreements they make now follow the new rules.
The new agreements have to be written down and include the names of the parties, how long the agreement is for, how much the agent will be paid, what services the agent will provide, and the signatures of both parties. Before making an agreement with a player or coach, agents will have to tell them in writing to get legal advice and make sure the player or coach confirms in writing that they got advice or decided not to. The agreements between players and agents will only be able to last for two years and cannot automatically renew.
Agents cannot limit a player or coach’s ability to negotiate or sign a contract without the agent’s involvement, and cannot charge a fee if a player or coach signs a contract without the agent’s involvement. Agents can only have one agreement with the same player at a time, but can have multiple agreements with different clubs. The agreements can be ended by either party if there is a good reason, but the definition of what is a good reason is not very clear and could lead to more disputes.
What are the rules relating to players under 16 years old?
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.