- INTRODUCTION
On 16 December 2022, FIFA Council approved new FIFA Football Agents Regulations. According to Article 28, the Regulations shall come into force in two separate phases. Article 28(1)(a) stipulates that Articles 1 to 10 of the Regulations shall enter into force on 9 January 2023 while Article 28(1)(b) provides that Articles 22 to 27 shall come into force from 1 October 2023.
Article 1 informs that the Regulations’ objectives include protecting contractual stability between professional players and clubs, encouraging the training of young players, promoting a spirit of solidarity between elite and grassroots football, protecting minors, maintaining competitive balance, and ensuring the regularity of sporting competitions. Thus, the Regulations’ core mission is to make the FIFA agents’ dealings in football more professional and ethical.
In achieving these objectives, the Regulations set certain eligibility criteria for persons intending to become FIFA Football Agents. The Regulations uniquely establish a centralized licensing application and management for FIFA Football Agents. The Regulations also set the requirements that one must pass an exam FIFA has prepared under Article 5(2).
The FIFA official website indicates that the first FIFA agent examination was held on 19 April 2023 and the second examination was scheduled for 20 September 2023.
Based on this background, Lawmark Attorneys at Law would like to use this brief to inform everyone of the eligibility criteria to qualify for the application to sit for the FIFA Football Agents examination to finally meet one of the eligibility requirements of a licensed FIFA Football Agent.
- ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- Your application shall not contain any false, misleading or incomplete statements.
- You must not have been convicted of any criminal charge.
- You should not have been punished for ethical or professional misconduct leading to suspension of two years or more, disqualification or striking off by any regulatory authority or sports governing body.
- You should not be an official or employee of FIFA, a confederation, a member association, a league, a club or any body that represents their interests which is connected directly or indirectly with such entities, unless the applicant was appointed or elected to a body of FIFA, a confederation or a member association, representing the interests of the Football Agents.
- You do not hold, either personally or through their agencies, any interest in a club, academy, league or single-entity league.
- You should not have worked as an unlicensed agent in the period of twenty-four (24) months before the submission of a licence application.
- You have never been found doing Football Agent Services without the required license within five years before submitting a license application, even after the license has been granted.
- You should never have been declared personally bankrupt or been a majority shareholder, director or key office holder of a business declared bankruptcy, entered administration and/or undergone liquidation within 12 months before submitting a licence application, even subsequently after being granted a licence.
- You should not have held any interest in any entity, company or organisation that brokers, arranges or conducts sports betting activities whereby a wager is placed on the outcome of a sporting event to win money.
- CONCLUSION
The criteria to qualify as a successful applicant to sit for the examination and be licensed as a FIFA Football Agents represent minimal standards which attract and embrace ethical and professional conduct for the agents.
These Regulations cover transactions which contain international elements. Should an agent engage in a transaction with no international elements, the Regulations of member associations licensing shall govern them.
Our briefs we will continue to cover various parts of the Regulations and their implication to the general football sector. We are hoping that you will find these briefs should you wish to engage in the sports industry and specifically as FIFA football agents.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this brief does not and is not intended to, constitute any legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available herein are for general informational purposes only.