ADOPTED BY THE FIFA COUNCIL IN DOHA IN DECEMBER 2022, THE NEW FIFA AGENTS REGULATIONS (THE “REGULATIONS”) ENTERED INTO FORCE ON 9 JANUARY 2023.

The main objective of the Regulation is to raise the standards of the agent function and to define minimum professional and ethical standards to govern the function of agent and the services provided to clients, including:

• the creation of a mandatory personal and non-transferable licensing system (Article 8 of the Regulations), the compulsory licence having been abandoned in 2017 by FIFA: the licence application procedure has been open since Monday 9 January 2023 on the new Agent Platform available on the FIFA website.

• the prohibition of multi-representation in order to avoid conflicts of interest (section 12.8 of the Regulations): an agent may therefore only provide agent or other services for one party in a transaction, with the exception of the following case of authorized dual representation: an agent may provide agent or other services for an individual and a receiving entity in the same transaction provided that both clients have given their prior written consent;

• the cap on agents’ commissions (Article 15 of the Regulations): the commission (service allowance) is thus capped in a range between 3% and 6% of the annual salary if the agent represents the player and/or the buying club and 10% on transfer fees if the agent represents the selling club.

These Regulations govern the function of agent under the international transfer system and apply to all representation arrangements with an international dimension or to any activity related to an international transfer or transaction.

All these provisions are aimed at strengthening contractual stability, protecting the integrity of the transfer system and achieving greater financial transparency.

If the procedure for obtaining the agent licence has been effective since 9 January 2023, a transition period is foreseen concerning the obligation to use exclusively licensed agents as well as the cap on commissions, which will enter into force from 1^er October 2023 (section 22 of the Regulations).

With regard to dispute resolution, the Rules reintroduce FIFA’s dispute resolution system for disputes arising out of or in connection with a representation agreement with an international dimension. FIFA, through the Agents Chamber of the Football Tribunal, will deal with from 1^er October 2023 of any dispute with an international dimension concerning representation agreements concluded between an agent and a client.

Each member association must implement and enforce a national agent regulation by September 30, 2023 (section 3 of the regulation). These national regulations must govern the function of agent in the territory under the jurisdiction of the association and will apply to all representation agreements that are not of an international dimension. These national regulations will have to comply with the Regulation and incorporate certain mandatory provisions of the Regulation.

We hope that the entry into force of this Regulation will make it possible to regulate the profession of agents and protect the various actors from any abusive practice.

By Jean-Baptiste-Guillot, France, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.  

For further information or for any assistance please contact france@transatlanticlaw.com

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