FA qualified Football Agent or Football intermediary?

FA qualified Football Agent or Football intermediary?

FA Qualified Football Agent or Football intermediary?

Football Agents - Football Intermediaries: Sports Article: from the author and freelance sports journalist Kevin Walters: A brief consideration of the change of Football Agent Regulations and whether an Agent or Intermediary are really needed.

The Rules Have Changed

In April 2015, the FA rules for football agents were changed.  The licensed football agent is now a thing of the past. Intermediaries (as they are now called) will no longer be required to pass an exam to qualify. In theory, anybody can become one, providing they have an “impeccable reputation” – essentially are without a criminal record – have no conflicted interests, and in England pay £500 to register with the FA.

So what’s the problem?

The previously qualified agents are upset because they had to endure exams to qualify as a registered FA football agent. Now, as long as you are of good character and have £500 to hand, you can become their equivalent. I’m afraid, many would say, it’s called moving onwards and upwards! It’s called change – and as we all know nobody who is successful and directly involved ever likes change.

Football Intermediary Commissions at 3%

 The commission rate for football agents was generally 5% upwards. There is talk of this figure being capped at 3%. This will ultimately mean that many ‘full time’ football agents will move on to other things simply because the potential earnings will no longer be as easily achievable as they were.
The new wave of Intermediaries will probably be part-time agents, many with successful law, accountancy and marketing businesses in the background.  And this could be much better for everyone concerned – the player, the players’ family, the club and everyone else in the chain. Certainly the fees to the agent will be less, and maybe the contract to the player will be less. Good news for the club, and maybe good news for the sport. 

Football wages have spiralled out of control, and football agents have played a part in this. Television has provided the stage for the agents to act upon, but in real terms the only winners to date are the players and the agents. Now that the rules have changed, we might see the whole business change – ultimately for the better, many would say.

But is an agent or an intermediary really needed?

I certainly think so, because before agents were around, many players were exploited by ruthless club chairmen. You could say that, nowadays, the tables have been completely reversed with the agents exploiting the clubs, but two wrongs don’t make a right, and I see the new intermediaries, with their lower rates of commission, bringing the game back to a level playing field – financially.

Young players need a good football intermediary – someone who has the experience to negotiate a deal, whilst taking care of the interests of everyone in the chain. Some would say it might become a fairer sport if everyone involved lost the greed and only took what was right to take.  The new rules are helping to take the first steps towards this equilibrium.

Kevin Walters, is an independent freelance journalist and has kindly produced this article for Football Agents - Football Intermediaries;

All opinions and any factual content are the sole responsibility of the sports writer.

Football Agents - Intermediary Personal View

The relaxation of the football agency rules means that there will be a “free-for-all.” Football Intermediaries who could not pass an exam and or those with, perhaps, a blackened past will simply hide behind Company structures and friends.  There is, in essence a “light touch” regulation and we have seen what happened in recent times when the Banks were set free to do what they wished without restriction.