New players' agents regulations in Turkey.

I. General Provisions

Article 1 - Purpose

The purpose of these Regulations is to set the terms for acquiring a Players' Agent Licence and to define the rules and procedures governing the players' agents' activities.

Article 2 - Definitions and Acronyms

In these Regulations, the terms set out below shall have the following meanings:

II. Acquisition of Players' Agent Status

Article 3 - Prerequisites for Application

A natural person, wishing to obtain a Players' Agent Licence, must meet the following prerequisites to sit for the relevant examinations held by the TFF:

The applicant must:

1. be a Turkish citizen or must have been holding a valid residence and work permit in Turkey;

2. hold a high-school diploma or its equivalent;

3. have not been imprisoned for a term of more than two (2) years for any crime committed intentionally or convicted of any crime against the security of the State, the Constitutional order or the operation of that order, the national defense or State secrets, or of espionage, embezzlement, malversation, corruption, theft, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, fraudulent bankruptcy, conspiracy in public tenders, fraudulent breach of contractual obligations, laundering of illegally obtained assets, or smuggling (any applicants received a sentence because of one of the above mentioned infamous crimes regardless of whether such a sentence has been suspended, converted into a fine or otherwise pardoned shall not become a player's agent);

4. not hold any honorary or paid position in FIFA, UEFA, the TFF, any club or on any organ of these bodies;

5. have good professional, social and ethical reputation; and

6. meet all other requirements as may be introduced by the TFF;

Article 4 - Required Documents

(1) When filing their applications, applicants must submit all the following documents to the TFF for each examination:

1. Application statement;

2. 4 passport photos;

3. Certificate of residence;

4. A certified copy of ID Card (or a certified copy of passport, in the case of foreigners);

5. Criminal Record, issued no earlier than 1 month prior to the date of application;

6. A notarized copy of the diploma held (in the case of a diploma received abroad, it must be accompanied by its notarized Turkish translation and other documents evidencing its equivalence);

7. Other documents as may be required by the TFF.

(2) No facsimile transmissions or photocopies of the documents listed above shall be accepted. Applicants may file their written applications in person or by post by the application deadline set by the TFF.

Article 5 - Preliminary Evaluation

(1) After receiving an application, the TFF shall ascertain the application to verify whether it meets the relevant prerequisites set forth in these Regulations then, if the TFF considers the application acceptable, it shall invite the applicant to take a written examination.

(2) As a result of the preliminary evaluation, applications not meeting any of the relevant prerequisites set forth in hereunder shall be rejected. Applicants, whose application have been rejected, have a right to object against the rejection decision in accordance with Article 7 of the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations.

Article 6 - Examinations

(1) Written examinations shall be held in the Turkish language twice a year in the months of March and September on the exact dates determined by FIFA. However, upon request, applicants may take the examination in one of the following languages: English, German, French or Spanish.

(2) The exact examination dates and the examination fee payment deadline shall be announced by the TFF on its official website, www.tff.org, one month in advance of the examination dates.

(3) Examination fees shall be determined annually by the Executive Board and shall be paid separately for each examination. Applicants who fail to pay the required examination fee and submit the relevant payment receipt to the TFF within the deadline set shall not be allowed to take the examination involved.

(4) A players' agent applicant shall be considered to have passed the examination only if he attains the minimum mark set by FIFA.

(5) A players' agent applicant who fails to attain the minimum mark may apply to retake the examination on the next available date. If an applicant fails to attain the minimum mark at the second attempt, he may not retake the examination until the next two examination periods have elapsed. If the applicant applies to retake the examination a third time, he may choose to be examined by the TFF or FIFA.

(6) An applicant who fails to attain the minimum mark at the third attempt may not take the examination again for two years.

(7) Individual results of the examination shall be assessed by the Players' Agents Examination Committee which consists of the TFF's General Secretary, Head of the TFF's Legal Department, Professional Player Registration Affairs Department Director and 2 counsels from the TFF's Legal Department.

Article 7 - Insurance

(1) Each applicant, who has passed the written examination, shall conclude a professional liability insurance in his own name with a reputable insurance company and present the original copy of the relevant insurance policy to the TFF.

(2) An applicant who fails to present original copy of his professional liability insurance policy to the TFF within six months following the examination date shall not be licensed unless he retakes and passes the examination.

(3) The insurance policy shall be worded in such a way that it adequately covers any risks that may arise from the players' agent's activity and contains such minimum conditions as may be required by the TFF. The insurance shall particularly cover any claims for compensation from players, clubs or other players' agents arising from the players' agent's activity which violates these Regulations and other relevant national and international regulations.

(4) The insurance policy shall further cover claims made after expiry of the policy for events that occurred during the period of the policy.

(5) The amount covered by the insurance policy shall be fixed on the basis of the player' agent's yearly turnover. Such amount shall in any case not be less than CHF 100,000.

(6) The insurance policy may be concluded for a limited or unlimited period of time. If concluded for a limited period of time, the policy must be renewed without interruption and the original copy of the new policy must be immediately presented to the TFF with all the receipts evidencing payment of all the relevant insurance premiums.

(7) The licence of a players' agent who fails to renew his professional liability insurance policy without interruption shall be suspended beginning from the date the policy expires until he submits his new professional liability insurance policy to the TFF. The players' agent may not carry out his activites as such during this period of suspension.

(8) A players' agent may not cancel his professional liability insurance policy until he has fully terminated his activities as a result of cancellation or return of his licence. Furthermore, the players' agent shall ensure that any claim for compensation made after termination of his activities which originates from his former activity as a players' agent is covered by the insurance.

Article 8 - Bank Guarantee

(1) If it is not possible for a players' agent to conclude a professional liability insurance policy as stipulated above, he may provide an irrevocable bank guarantee from a Swiss bank for a minimum amount of CHF 100.000.

(2) The bank guarantee has the same purpose as that of professional liability insurance, and exclusively FIFA shall have access to this bank guarantee.

(3) In case where the amount of the bank guarantee is not sufficient to fully cover the damages made, the players' agent shall be solely responsible for such portion of the damage that is not covered by the bank guarantee.

(4) If the amount of the bank guarantee is reduced for any reason, the players' agent's licence shall be suspended automatically until the amount of the guarantee has been increased to the initial amount of CHF 100.000. The players' agent may not carry out his activities as such during this period of suspension.

Article 9 - Letter of Commitment

In order to receive a players' agent licence, the applicant must sign and submit to the TFF the Code of Professional Conduct (Annex 1) governing his activity and agree to abide by the regulations and directives of FIFA and the TFF and also comply with the basic principles of the occupation so long as he acts as a players' agent.

III. Players' Agent Licence

Article 10 - Licence

(1) The TFF shall issue a "Players' Agent Licence" to each applicant who has fulfilled all the foregoing prerequisites for the issuance of a players' agent licence. The applicant may not receive his licence unless he pays the service fee determined by the Executive Board.

(2) A licensed players' agent must use the title "Players' Agent Licensed by the Turkish Football Federation" after his name and surname. Licensed players' agents may use only the logos permitted by the TFF on their printed documents and business cards. However, licensed players' agents shall not use the name and logo of FIFA on their printed documents or business cards.

(3) Transfering the licence to any third party is prohibited.

Article 11 - Publication

The TFF shall publish on its official website, www.tff.org, a list of all the players' agents to which it has issued a licence. The TFF shall send a list of all the licensed players' agents to FIFA after every examination period and also update the list published on its official website.

Article 12 - Renewal of Licence

(1) The players' agent licence shall be valid for five years after its date of issue. Additionaly, the licence must be subject to recertification by the TFF every year. The players' agent is obliged to pay the annual recertification fee determined by the TFF Executive Board and also submit to the TFF all the documents and information that may be requested by the TFF. If the players' agent fails to pay the annual recertification fee or to submit any document or information that may be requested by the TFF, his licence shall be suspended.

(2) The players' agent shall send a written application, which must be accompanied by the documents listed in Article 4 above, to the TFF to resit the examination before the date on which his licence is due to expire. Otherwise, the players' agent's licence shall be suspended automatically on its date of expiry. If the players' agent apply for the reexamination before the deadline given above, his licence shall remain valid until the date the results of the next available examination are announced.

(3) If the players' agent fails the examination which was taken for enabling him to renew his licence, his licence shall be automatically suspended until such time as he passes it.

(4) There is no limit on the number of times a players' agent may retake the examination.

Article 13 - Loss of Licence

(1) A licence may be withdrawn if the players' agent no longer fulfils any of the relevant prerequisites or terminates his activity, or as a result of a disciplinary sanction or due to other relevant circumstances stipulated under these present Regulations.

(2) If players' agent no longer fulfils any of the prerequisites for holding a licence, unless specifically stipulated otherwise hereunder, a reasonable and conclusive time limit in which to satisfy the relevant requirements shall be given the players' agent. If, at the expiry of such time limit, the requirements are still not satisfied, the licence shall be cancelled.

Article 14 - Return of Licence by Players' Agent

A players' agent who decides to terminate his activity must return his licence to the TFF. Failure to comply with this provision shall result in the cancellation of the licence and publication of this decision to the relevant authorities by the TFF.

IV. Player' Agent Contract

Article 15 - Players' Agent Contract

(1) A players' agent shall conclude a written contract with the club or player he represents.

(2) A players' agent contract signed with a minor player shall be valid only if it is also signed by the players' legal guardian(s).

(3) The players' agent contract shall be concluded for a maximum period of two years. It may, however, be extended for another maximum period of two years upon mutual consent in written form. No provision stipulating that the contract will be extended automatically shall be valid. If the parties wish to extend their contract, they must sign a new players' agent contract for another maximum period of two years.

(4) The players' agent contract must contain the names of the parties, its date and duration, the remuneration due to the players' agent, the terms of payment, the obligations of the players' agent and the signature of the parties.

(5) The players' agent may use the Standard Players' Agent Contract drawn up and recommended by the TFF.

(6) All payments due to the players' agent shall be made to the players' agent directly by the player or the club the players' agent represents. To receive any payment from any unrepresented parties by the players' agent is prohibited. However, whereas a player is represented by the player's agent, the player may give his written consent for the club to pay the player's agent on his behalf after the conclusion of the relevant transactions subject to the representation, The payment made on behalf of the player must reflect the general terms of payment agreed between the player and the player's agent.

(7) The players' agent contract shall be issued in at least three originals which shall be duly signed by both parties. Each party shall keep one of the copies respectively, and the remaining copy shall be submitted to the TFF for registration purposes within 30 days of their conclusion. If the player or the club with which the players' agent contract is signed is a foreigner, the contract shall be signed in 4 original copies and the 4th copy shall be submitted to the national association to which the player or the club is registered. The TFF reserves its right to ask for amendments or to refuse to register any contract which does not contain the minimum requirements applicable or comply with the regulations of the TFF or FIFA.

Article 16 - Reference to Players' Agent in Negotiated Contracts

In any transfer or employment (professional footballer) contract concluded as a result of negotiations conducted by a licensed players' agent, the players' agent's name and title. shall be clearly specified.

Article 17 - Remuneration

(1) The remuneration due to the players' agent and the terms of payment must be explicitly specified in the contract.

(2) If the contract does not specify any remuneration, then the remuneration due to the players' agent acting on behalf of the player concerned shall be calculated on the basis of the player's annual basic gross income. Such amount shall not include the player's other benefits (such as movable and immovable assets allocated or transferred to the player free of charge), point premiums or any kind of bonus or privilege which is not guaranteed.

(3) In the event of a players' agent contract concluded between a players' agent and a player, the remuneration shall be explicitly decided in advance whether the player shall remunerate the players' agent with a lump sum payment at the start of the employment (professional footballer) contract or whether he shall pay annual installments at the end of each contractual year of the employment (professional footballer) contract. If the players' agent and the player do not decide on a lump sum payment and the player's employment contract negotiated by the players' agent on his behalf lasts longer than the players' agent contract between the players' agent and the player, the players' agent shall be entitled to annual remuneration even after the expiry of the players' agent contract. This entitlement shall last until the player's employment contract expires or the player signs a new employment contract without the involvement of the same players' agent. If the players' agent contract does not stipulate whether the remuneration shall be paid with a lump sum payment at the start of the employment (professional footballer) contract or whether he shall pay annual installments at the end of each contractual year of the employment (professional footballer) contract then the rule for remuneration is a lump sum payment.

(4) Unless otherwise agreed explicitly, a club is obliged to remunerate a players' agent who has been contracted for his services by payment of a lump sum.

(5) If the players' agent and the player cannot reach agreement on the amount of remuneration to be paid or if the players' agent contract does not contain a clear provision on the amount of remuneration, the players' agent shall be entitled to a remuneration amounting to 3% of the annual basic gross income as described in paragraph 2 above which the player is due to receive under the employment contract negotiated by the players' agent on his behalf.

V. Rights and Obligations of Parties

Article 18 - Rights of Players' Agents

(1) A licensed players' agent has the right to:

a) contact every player or club that is not under an exclusive players' agent contract with another players' agent;

b) negotiate contracts on behalf of a player or club that requests him to do so, and also sign contracts on his or its behalf if duly empowered under a notarized power of attorney;

c) represent the interests of any player or club that empowers him to do so, and also file applications with the TFF in relation to administrative procedures and decisions concerning that player or club by submitting the necessary power of attorney.

(2) However, applications that are related to the player's disputes with third parties and that may result in judicial proceedings may only be filed by the player himself or his counsel.

Article 19 - Obligations of Players' Agents

When exercising his rights and powers, a licensed players' agent shall:

a) comply with the relevant laws, the statutes and regulations of FIFA, UEFA and the TFF, the Code of Professional Conduct, and all decisions of the competent bodies of FIFA and the TFF;

b) ensure that every transaction he is involved in complies with relevant laws, the statutes and regulations of FIFA, UEFA and the TFF;

c) not approach or act to result in to any player who is under contract with a club with the aim of persuading him to terminate his contract prematurely or to violate any of his contractual obligations; particularly not contact any club on behalf the player without first obtaining the prior written permission of the player's club (it shall be presumed that, unless established to the contrary by the players' agent, any players' agent involved in a contractual breach committed by the player without just cause has induced such breach of contract);

d) never negotiate contracts without the consent of the club or player he represents; inform the club or player he represents about the details and developments regarding the contract negotiations he is involved in; and protect the legal interests of the party he represents in the best manner possible;

e) ensure that his name, signature and the name of the party (club or player) he represents appear in any contracts resulting from negotiations in which he is involved;

f) upon request, provide the TFF and FIFA all the necessary information and documents;

g) participate in all training programmes organised by the TFF and FIFA;

h) carry out the players' agent activity in person;

i) carry out his activity on his own and not employ any person other than for the purposes of dealing with administrative duties in connection with player's agent activity (Only the players' agent himself may represent clubs or players and promote the interests of the represented players or clubs in connection with other clubs or players);

j) prevent any unlicensed players' agent from using his licence to act as a players' agent or from benefitting from the rights arising from his licence;

k) avoid all conflicts of interest in the course of his activity; represent the interests of only one party per negotiation; not have a representation or a cooperation relation or shared interests with one of the other parties or with one of the other parties' representatives involved while negotiating a transfer or employment contract;

l) submit his criminal record to the TFF every year;

m) avoid carrying out directly or indirectly any players' agent activity, during the period when his licence is suspended or withdrawn;

n) update his address and other personal information which he submitted to the TFF (if he fails to notify the TFF of any change in his mailing address, any notice sent to the address registered with the TFF shall be deemed to have been duly given.)

Article 20 - Rights and Obligations of Players

A player shall:

a) comply with the law, the statutes and regulations of FIFA, UEFA and the TFF and decisions of the competent bodies of FIFA and the TFF;

b) only engage the services of a licensed players' agent; not permit directly or indirectly any unlicensed person to act on his behalf in negotiating any contract with clubs or in carrying out any activity that may fall within the scope of a players' agent activity;

c) satisfy himself that a players' agent is appropriately licensed to act in such a capacity, or that his licence is not suspended or withdrawn, prior to getting into any contractual relationship with that agent;

d) upon request, provide the TFF and FIFA all the necessary information and documents;

e) abide by all the provisions of the contracts he has concluded with a players' agent; and

f ) explicitly disclose, in any professional player contract he signs, whether he has engaged the services of a licensed players' agent in concluding that contract, and also ensure that the name and title of the licensed players' agent, if any, involved in the completion of the contract is explicitly specified in the contract.

Article 21 - Rights and Obligations of Clubs

A club shall:

a) comply with, and also ensure that all of its honorary or paid officials adhere to, the law, the statutes and regulations of FIFA, UEFA and the TFF and decisions of the competent bodies of FIFA and the TFF;

b) only engage the services of a licensed players' agent; not permit directly or indirectly any unlicensed person to act on its behalf in negotiating any contract with clubs or players or in carrying out any activity that may fall within the scope of a players' agent activity;

c) ensure that, during contractual negotiations it conducts, the players or clubs with which it wishes to sign an agreement are represented by licensed players' agents throughout such contractual negotiations; prevent unlicensed persons from conducting such contractual negotiations; not enter directly or indirectly into any contractual relationship, with unlicensed persons;

c) satisfy itself that a players' agent is appropriately licensed to act in such a capacity, or that his licence is not suspended or withdrawn, prior to getting into any contractual relationship with that agent;

d) upon request, provide the TFF and FIFA all the necessary information and documents;

e) abide by all the provisions of the contracts it has concluded with a players' agent;

f) explicitly disclose, in any professional player contract it signs, whether it has engaged the services of a licensed players' agent in concluding that contract, and also ensure that the name and title of the licensed players' agent, if any, involved in the completion of the contract is explicitly specified in the contract; and

g) not induce any player to a contractual breach with a players' agent.

VI. Sanctions

Article 22 - General Provisions

(1) Any players' agent, player, club or other person that violates any provision of these Regulations, the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations or the statutes and regulations of FIFA, UEFA or the TFF shall be lodged to the PFDC in order to be subject to disciplinary sanctions. Decisions of the PFDC may only be appealed to the Arbitration Committee.

(2) In the event of a violation in international transactions, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is responsible for imposing sanctions in accordance with the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations and the FIFA Disciplinary Code. In the event of a dispute regarding competence, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee shall decide who is responsible for imposing sanctions. Representation of one of the parties by a players' agent licensed by TFF in situations such as during a contract negotiations between two clubs affiliated to TFF or between a club affiliated to TFF and a player who has Turkish nationality, shall be considered as players' agent activity of national dimension.

(3) While conducting an investigation into a possible violation of the players' agents regulations of TFF, the investigation bodies and disciplinary committees may use and freely consider any means of evidence, including news, photos and video recordings appearing in the media.

(4) Players' agents, players or clubs that are strongly suspected of having committed a disciplinary infringement are obliged to prove that they acted in compliance with the present Regulations during the disciplinary investigation and proceedings initiated against them.

Article 23 - Sanctions on Players' Agents

The following sanctions may be imposed on players' agents for violation of this present Regulations, the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations, or other regulations of FIFA, UEFA or the TFF, or the letter of commitment they sign under Article 9 of this present Regulations:

a) a warning;

b) a reprimand;

c) a fine of at least TL 50.000.-;

d) a suspension / a ban on taking part in any football-related activity;

e) a suspension of licence;

f ) a licence withdrawal.

These sanctions may be imposed separately or in combination depending on the severity, nature and recurrence of the violation.

Article 24 - Sanctions on Players

The following sanctions may be imposed on players for violation of this present Regulations, the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations, or other regulations of FIFA, UEFA or the TFF:

a) a warning;

b) a reprimand;

c) a fine of at least TL 50.000 in the case of Super League player; a fine of at least TL 25.000 in the case of a TFF League 1 player; a fine of at least TL 10.000 in the case of a TFF League 2 player; and a fine of at least TL 5.000 in the case of a TFF League 3 player;

d) a match suspension;

e) a ban on taking part in any football-related activity; These sanctions may be imposed separately or in combination depending on the severity, nature and recurrence of the violation.

Article 25 - Sanctions on Clubs

The following sanctions may be imposed on for violation of this present Regulations, the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations, or other regulations of FIFA, UEFA or the TFF:

a) a warning;

b) a reprimand;

c) a fine of at least TL 100.000 in the case of a Super League club; a fine of at least TL 50.000 in the case of a TFF League 1 club; a fine of at least TL 25.000 in the case of a TFF League 2 club; and a fine of at least TL 10.000 in the case of a TFF League 3 club;

d) a transfer ban;

e) deduction of points;

f ) demotion to a lower league.

These sanctions may be imposed separately or in combination depending on the severity, nature and recurrence of the violation.

VII. - Final Provisions

Article 26 - Exempt Individuals

The parents, siblings or spouse of the player may negotiate a professional player contract on behalf of the player. FIFA's and TFF's regulations on players' agents shall not apply to such activities, conducted by the parents, siblings or spouse of the player. This activities do not fall under the jurisdiction of FIFA or TFF.

Article 27 - Reporting to FIFA

The TFF shall submit to FIFA the players' agents who have terminated their activities, disputes involving players' agents, and disciplinary proceedings regarding players' agents.

Article 28 - Coming into Force

These Regulations, were adopted by the TFF Executive Board, and come into force upon their publication on the TFF's official website, www.tff.org, on the date of 19.03.2010.

Article 29 - Provisions Repealed

Once came into force, these present Regulations shall replace the Regulations on Players' Agents that came into force upon being published in Official Gazette No. 25151 of 12 June 2003.

Provisional Article 1

Any case that is related to the transactions prior these Regulations come into force shall be dealt with in accordance with the "FIFA Regulations on Players' Agents" that published in the Official Gazette of 12 June 2003.

Provisional Article 2

The permanent licences issued to players' agents prior to the coming into force of these present Regulations shall be valid for 5 years as of the date of 01 January 2008 on which the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations came into force. These players' agents shall be obliged to re-sit the examination in accordance with the relevant provisions of these present Regulations upon expiry of the said 5-year period.

Provisional Article 3

In case of any amendment made by the FIFA to the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations after the present Regulations come into force, the present Regulations shall be amended and ensured to be in conformity with the FIFA Regulations.

The regulations came into force on 19 March 2010. a) TFF the Turkish Football Federation; b) Executive Board the Executive Board of the Turkish Football Federation; c) Arbitration Committee the Arbitration Committee of the Turkish Football Federation; d) PFDC the Professional Disciplinary Committee of the Turkish Football Federation; e) Dispute Resolution Chamber the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the Turkish Football Federation; f) Players' Agent a natural person who, for a fee, introduces players to clubs with a view to negotiating a professional player contract or introduces two clubs to one another with a view to concluding a transfer contract, in compliance with a players' agent licence obtained under these Regulations and the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations; g) Licence a "Players' Agent Licence" obtained from the TFF within the context of these Regulations, enabling a natural person to act as a players' agent; h) Insurance a Professional Liability Insurance that must be purchased by each players' agent within the terms of these Regulations; l) Insurance Policy a Professional Liability Insurance Policy; i) Players' Agent Contract a written contract, that shall be signed by players' agents with clubs, players, coaches and trainers in compliance with the sample contract template drawn up by the TFF j) Professional Player a written employment contract Contract conducted between a professional player and a club and registered by the TFF; k) Applicant a natural person wishing to obtain a licence to act as a players' agent.