Football Agents Regulations Take Effect
In the wake of the outcry surrounding the role of football agents over the past twelve months, the FA finally published its comparably controversial domestic Football Agents Regulations (the "Regulations") in July of this year and which came into effect on 1 September. The Regulations govern the activity of agents authorised by the FA and transactions and activity in the domestic football market, working in tandem with FIFA's Players Agents Regulations which continue to apply to international transactions and activity.
The Regulations replace the previous Football Agents Regulations and include guidelines on areas such as dual representation, nepotism and overseas agents. The FA believes that its amendments will help to avoid potential conflicts of interest and enhance the level of transparency within domestic transfer dealings. However, critics such as the Association of Football Agents, who threatened the FA with legal action in April this year in response to the original draft of the Regulations, feel that the numerous restrictions, particularly in relation to the way agents are paid, will only serve to increase wage inflation and may restrain trade. Furthermore, many agents harbour specific concerns regarding the tax implications of the new obligations (which require that all payments to agents having to be made by the player himself), the fact that players are still permitted to represent themselves and that agents acting for a player in a transfer deal now have to wait over a year before they can represent a club in relation to the same player.
Finally, it is also likely that those people hoping that the Regulations would prevent another Tevez scandal will be left somewhat underwhelmed following the FA's public acknowledgement that it has only limited power to deal with third-party ownership, as such issues need to be addressed at an international level by FIFA.
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