FIFA poised to reduce number of football agents with new examination

The number of football agents is expected to fall dramatically with the introduction of a new Fifa exam that requires applicants to study from a 528-page book.

Agents are paying law firms as much as £800 an hour for online tuition, plus relevant study material, in a bid to pass, while some of the leading agencies have organised their own internal study groups.

Fifa revealed on Tuesday that they have received 6,586 applications from 138 member associations for the first exam on April 19. If applicants have not passed the exam by October 1, they will not be able to participate in transfer deals until they have been successful.

Since Fifa deregulated the industry in April 2015, the number of agents has grown significantly. Aspiring agents no longer had to pass a Fifa exam that had a particularly high fail rate, take out indemnity insurance or have any real understanding of contract law.

Even in England anyone with £500 and no criminal record could become a Football Association-registered intermediary and by 2016 the number of English agents had risen from 518 to 1,516. Today there are more than 2,000, with Premier League clubs setting a new record by paying more than £318 million in agent fees for the period between February 2022 and January 2023.

While a number of the long-serving agents will be granted “legacy” status that means they do not have to sit the exam, many others are now busy cramming in a bid to remain in the massively lucrative business.

The exam lasts 60 minutes and, similar to the old exam, comprises 20 multiple-choice questions designed to test the candidate’s knowledge of Fifa regulations and the transfer system. The pass mark is 75 per cent and Fifa consider it to be an important move to raise standards.

Some of the more experienced agents have welcomed the initiative. “Since they got rid of the exam in 2015 I think we’ve seen some unsuitable people coming into the industry,” Sky Andrew, a leading agent, told The Times. “We’ve also seen a huge influx of family members becoming agents, and in fairness some of them are very good.

“But they will all now have to pass the exam, because unless they do they can’t be involved in a transaction. I think this will lead to a significant reduction in numbers. I’ve even spoken to lawyers who are worried about failing it.

“I also think it will lead to a period of turmoil. Knowing that the October deadline is looming, I think we could see the busiest transfer window ever this summer, with deals being done by agents worried about how they might operate in the future.”

The exam will be invigilated by each member association in an approved venue, with candidates expected to use their own computer. It will be an open book exam — enabling agents to have the 528-page document to hand — but Fifa advises applicants to study beforehand. One law firm offering tuition services warns that “a lack of preparation will make it extremely difficult”.

If a candidate fails, they will have only one more opportunity to pass — on September 20 — prior to the October 1 deadline, with further opportunities scheduled for May and November next year.

Emilio García Silvero, Fifa’s chief legal and compliance officer, said the exam will “ensure basic service standards for football agents and their clients through well-defined rules and increased certainty”.

But experts say the exam will prove difficult to pass. The old one was tough, with pass rates in England fluctuating between 6 per cent and 35 per cent. Legend has it that a sports reporter hoping to expose how easy it was also failed.

The previous exam comprised 15 Fifa questions with five further domestic questions. The new exam involves 20 Fifa questions focused entirely on its new regulations. Some questions involve potential scenarios, with more than one possible correct answer.