European Football Agents Association wants to end malpractice in the (International) transfer of players.

Martins, Roberto Branco

The number of players' agents has grown explosively since the Bosman case. The huge circulation of money and players' ever-increasing wages can mean it is a simple step to accuse agents of being involved in malpractice and criminal activities. The recently established European Football Agents Association believes that the current system of regulation does not halt transfer-related problems. The participation of players' agents in regulating their profession is a prerequisite for avoiding unprofessional conduct.

The definitive emancipation of footballers came about in the wake of the Bosman case. The activities of players' agents were augmented in direct relation to the players' renewed status. The considerable circulation of money in the international football world, and more specifically the players' wages, led to players' agents being linked to malpractice. Various reports and the media portray players' agents as questionable individuals involved in trafficking young players, money laundering, corruption and other serious criminal activities. World football's governing body FIFA announced it would curb such activities, issuing regulations governing the activities of players' agents. The third version of these regulations came into force on 1 January 2008.

The aim of these regulations is to safeguard professionalism, to protect players in their short careers and to guarantee transparency of payment methods and fees. FIFA introduced several rigorous articles in their new regulations to achieve this aim. Since 1 January 2008 licences are no longer valid indefinitely. After five years the players' agent will need to undergo a new examination to retain his licence and to continue exercising his profession. The severity of this rule is apparent. Without a licence an agent is unable to represent players, so not only does his business run a serious risk, but assisting players would become more difficult. Other agents will be tempted to pursue his players should an agent lose his licence. Contracts between agents and players will contain clauses for unilateral breach where the agent fails his exam. These are just a few of the obvious difficulties arising from these regulations. But such consequences will not end malpractice definitively; on the contrary, the malpractice environment is both created and worsened. The re-examination is far too rigorous in relation to its aim. A form of permanent education would better serve the purpose of guaranteeing professionalism and knowledge of developments than a once-off 'check' every five years with the danger of closing your business if you fail the test.

These regulations would be more readily acceptable to agents if they produced uniformity and protected the profession and professional activities. But the inclusion of an article on 'exempt individuals' means the regulations only affect licensed agents negatively. Unlicensed agents can use lawyers to legalise their activities. Unlicensed agents may carry out their profession with impunity and clubs are allowed to work with them freely, categorising some of their activities as 'scouting' or 'consultancy'. When the moment arrives for concrete negotiations, the unlicensed agent simply 'buys' the lawyer's signature. Many individuals operate these practices, the main advantage being that they do not fall under FIFA jurisdiction and are therefore completely free in their activities. These agents are thus able to propagate those malpractices, and because they are invisible it is the identifiable group of agents--those who do hold a licence--who are held responsible for these malpractices. This negative image affects all licensed agents.

Is FIFA allowed to draft these regulations? This is a commonly heard question. It becomes increasingly clear at the individual state level, that FIFA as a sport-governing body lacks the public authority to exercise such legislative powers. The activities of players' agents may be characterised as the provision of employment market services; the agent is an intermediary in contacts between clubs and players, aimed at concluding a contract. In the vast majority of cases (93% of all EU agents,) these activities are governed by national laws relating to job placement, or international treaties such as the ILO convention on private employment agencies. These laws and acts prevail over FIFA regulations and create a vacuum in the regulation of agents; where there is a discrepancy between FIFA regulations and these laws, the FIFA regulations are set aside, creating unfair access to the European football market for those citizens of countries with a less rigorous method of regulating the profession.

Is there a solution? There does not seem to be a clear-cut answer, but establishing the European Football Agents Association is a first step, in the realisation that the problem is shared by all those with a stake in football, so all parties involved need to cooperate. There is a need for a solid, enforceable legal basis to interpret the current FIFA regulations, and to include more far-reaching articles where necessary, producing practical and efficient regulation guidelines. The aims of the European Football Agents Association (EFAA) may be described by noting that it has been formed to maintain, and where necessary, to introduce, a high standard of professionalism, clarity and regulatory control in the profession of players' agents within the football family.

The EFAA is recognised by the European Commission and its national members are part of the national football structures. The EFAA seeks to participate in the sound regulation of agents and to combat corruption and criminal activities in sport.

The EFAA wishes to stress the importance of its role in the (self-) regulation of agents and professional football in general, within the boundaries of European Law. Efficient and enforceable regulation is only achievable with the support, participation and consent of the organised collective of players' agents, in a spirit of transparency and collaboration with all football's relevant stakeholders.

Concrete regulatory elements are the introduction of a type of permanent education, and setting limits on the admissibility of exempt individuals. Payment methods and the international introduction of clearing houses for international transfers may also be discussed. But the most important element is acceptance by football's stakeholders that agents must participate in all this. Agents are not seeking to end regulation; on the contrary, the EFAA needs to serve as a bridge for the regulation of agents, to be in accordance with legal practice and enforceable regulations.

The EFAA currently has seven members in the most important EU football countries. As EFAA members may only be national agents associations, an important EFAA activity is assisting national agent groups to organise. Serious EFAA expansion is to be expected in the near future. Individual countries' football structures welcome the cooperation and a channelled agents' voice. The EFAA includes this goal in its aim as an organisation:

"OBJECTIVES

Article 2

1. The objectives of the Association are:

to bring together all national players' agent Associations that are active in Europe and that possess the status of a legal entity; to look after the interests of these national players' agents Associations and their Members, the Federation Internationale de Football Associations (FIFA) licensed players' agents, by representing and improving their general position within Europe;

to support and encourage FIFA-licensed players' agents in Europe, wherever necessary, in establishing their national players' agents Association.

2 The Association tries to achieve these objectives inter alia by:

promoting the cooperation, amicable relations and unity of the Member Associations and their Members, the FIFA-licensed players' agents;

aiding the exchange of information between the Member Associations and supplying information about developments that are important to the collective and individual position of the Member Associations in Europe;

promoting the interests of the Member Associations while considering the collective affairs important for said Associations in the fields of economics, social economics and employment law;

promoting and improving the interests of players' agents in possession of a FIFA licence, in all its aspects while safeguarding the general interests of the Member Associations;

promoting the co-operation, intermediary activities and relations among organisations, sports institutions, professional football clubs or any other entities and the individual Member Associations, in particular in the field of management, consultancy and all forms of employment in the professional sector of football;

concluding collective agreements;

all other lawful and permitted means that may be conducive to the objectives.

3. The Association shall be a not-for-profit organisation."

Roberto Branco Martins, General manager of EFFA.