Preamble

These regulations govern the occupation of players' agents who arrange players' transfers within one national association or from one national association to another.

Each national association is obliged to draw up its own regulations for players' agents based on the following guidelines. Such regulations must be approved by the FIFA Players' Status Committee and incorporate the principles mentioned below.

When drawing up their regulations the national associations shall take the FIFA Statutes and regulations into account as well as their own national legislation and international treaties.

General Rules

Art. 1

Players and clubs are permitted to call upon the services of a players' agent during negotiations with other players or clubs provided the players' agent possesses a licence issued to him by the national association concerned in compliance with art. 2, par. 1 below.

The players' agent is a natural person who, for a fee, on a regular basis introduces a player to a club with a view to employment or introduces two clubs to one another with a view to concluding a transfer contract, in compliance with the provisions mentioned below.

Players and clubs are forbidden from using the services of a non-licensed players' agent (cf. art. 16 and 18).

The ban stipulated in par. 2 above does not apply if the agent acting on behalf of a player is a parent, a sibling or the spouse of the player in question or if the agent acting on behalf of the player or club is legally authorised to practise as a lawyer in compliance with the rules in force in his country of domicile.

Art. 2

Any natural person wishing to act as a players' agent shall send a written application to the national association of the country of which he is a national or, if he lives elsewhere, to the national association of his country of domicile provided he has lived there constantly for at least two years.

The applicant must have an impeccable reputation otherwise his application will be disregarded. The national association concerned shall decide whether the applicant fulfils the basic requirements in accordance with the national legislation of the country concerned.

Only a natural person may apply for a licence. Applications from companies or clubs are not permitted.

Art. 3

An applicant may not, under any circumstances, hold a position with FIFA, a confederation, a national association, a club or any organisation connected with these institutions.

Art. 4

Any national association that receives an application for a licence shall check whether it complies with the prerequisites stipulated in art. 2 and art. 3.

If the application is acceptable, the national association shall call the candidate for a written examination.

An applicant whose application has officially been rejected by the national association's examining body may send his application to FIFA. The FIFA Players' Status Committee shall decide whether the national association has rejected the applicant unfairly. If the Players' Status Committee also considers the application to be lacking in any form, the applicant may not reapply to the national association concerned for another two years.

Art. 5

The national associations shall set written examinations twice a year.

The examinations shall be held on identical dates throughout the world. FIFA will therefore fix mandatory dates at the beginning of each calendar year in March and September and inform the national associations accordingly.

National associations are responsible for arranging the examination in good time and giving the candidates adequate notice to take it.

The basic terms and conditions for the examination procedure are defined in Annexe A of these regulations.

The national associations may charge an appropriate fee to cover the costs of arranging the examination.

Art. 6

If a candidate scores the minimum amount of marks required to pass the examination (cf. Annexe A, I. par. 5), the national association shall request him to conclude professional liability insurance with an insurance company in his country. He shall then send the insurance policy to the national association responsible.

The aim of the insurance is to cover any claims for compensation from a player, a club or another players' agent arising from the players' agent's occupation which, in the opinion of the national association and/or FIFA, contravenes the principles of these regulations and/or the national association's regulations. The policy shall therefore be worded in such a way that every possible risk connected with a players' agent's occupation is covered.

The maximum amount covered by the insurance policy shall be fixed on the basis of the players' agent's turnover.

The professional liability insurance policy shall also cover claims made after expiry of the policy for events that occurred during the duration of the policy.

The players' agent is required to renew the insurance policy as soon as it has expired and automatically send the relevant documents to the national association concerned.

Art. 7

If the players' agent cannot conclude a professional liability insurance policy in compliance with art. 6 above in the country in which he passed the examination, he may deposit a bank guarantee to the amount of CHF 100,000.--. The guarantee shall be issued by a Swiss bank and shall be irrevocable.

Only FIFA has access to this bank guarantee. The bank guarantee has the same objective as that of professional liability insurance (cf. art. 6, par. 2). The amount of the guarantee (CHF 100,000.--) does not represent the maximum amount due to any party claiming damages.

If the amount of the guarantee is reduced by a payment from the bank in response to a claim for damages against a players' agent, the players' agent's licence will be suspended until the amount of the guarantee has been increased to the initial amount (CHF 100,000.--).

Art. 8

Every candidate who has passed the examination is required to sign a Code of Professional Conduct (cf. Annexe B) in which he pledges, without fail, to abide by the basic principles described therein when acting as a players' agent.

Players' agents who fail to abide by the Code of Professional Conduct during the course of their work are liable to be sanctioned in accordance with art. 15, par. 2.

Art. 9

Players' associations that are officially recognised by national associations and that wish to provide a job placement service to their member players in accordance with art. 1 above may conclude their own joint professional liability insurance policy with an insurance company in the country where they operate.

In such cases, this insurance shall be limited to covering risks for no more than five licences. The licence holders shall, however, be bona fide members of the associations concerned, have passed the written examination in accordance with Annexe A herein and have personally signed the Code of Professional Conduct in accordance with art. 8. The names of the candidates who have received a licence shall also be listed in the insurance policy mentioned in par. 1 of this article.

Issues Of a License

Art. 10

After it has received the professional liability insurance policy or the bank guarantee, depending on the situation, and the signed pledge of the Code of Professional Conduct, the national association shall issue the players' agent licence to the candidate. This licence is strictly personal and not transferable. Each national association is required to draw up a list of all of the licensed players' agents on its territory and to send it to FIFA after every examination date.

The licence shall be issued for an unlimited period and authorise the players' agent to carry out transactions on a worldwide basis.

FIFA will compile a list of every licensed players' agent in the world and publish it on its official website.

As soon as the players' agent has received his licence from the national association, he will be entitled to use the following designation in business relations after his name: "Players' agent licensed by [country] national association".

Art. 11

A licensed players' agent has the right:

to contact every player who is not, or is no longer, under contract with a club (cf. art. 12 and 13 of the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfers of Players);

- to represent the interests of any player or club that requests him to negotiate and/or conclude contracts on his/its behalf;

- to take care of the interests of any player who requests him to do so;

- to take care of the interests of any club which requests him to do so.

Art. 12

A players' agent may represent or take care of the interests of a player or a club in compliance with art. 11 only if he has concluded a written contract with the player or club.

Such a contract shall be limited to a period of two years but may be renewed in writing at the express request of both parties. It may not be tacitly prolonged.

The contract shall explicitly mention who is responsible for paying the players' agent's fee, the type of fee and the prerequisite terms for the payment of the fee.

Only the client engaging the services of the players' agent, and no other party, may remunerate him.

The amount of remuneration due to a players' agent who has been engaged to act on a player's behalf is calculated on the basis of the player's annual basic gross income (i.e. excluding other benefits such as a car, a flat, point premiums and/or any kind of bonus or privilege) that the players' agent has negotiated for him in the employment contract.

The players' agent and the player shall decide in advance whether the player will remunerate the players' agent with a lump sum payment at the start of the employment contract that the players' agent has negotiated for the player or whether he will pay annual instalments at the end of a contractual year.

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 representation contract between the players' agent and the player, the players' agent is entitled to annual remuneration even after expiry of the representation contract. This entitlement lasts until the player's employment contract expires or as soon as the player signs a new employment contract without the help of the same players' agent.

If the players' agent and the player cannot reach agreement on the amount of remuneration to be paid or if the representation contract does not provide for such remuneration, the players' agent is entitled to payment of compensation amounting to 5% of the basic income described in par. 4 above which the player is due to receive from the employment contract negotiated by the players' agent on his behalf.

A players' agent who has been contracted by a club shall be remunerated for his services by payment of a lump sum that has been agreed upon in advance.

FIFA will provide its standard representation contract (cf. Annexe C) to the national associations. Every players' agent is required to use this standard contract. The parties to the contract are at liberty to conclude additional agreements and to supplement the standard contract accordingly, providing the relevant public law provisions for arranging employment in the country concerned are observed without fail.

The representation contract shall be issued in quadruple and duly signed by both parties. The player or the club shall keep the first copy and the players' agent the second. The players' agent shall send the third and fourth copies to his national association, or the national association to which the player or club belongs, for registration within 30 days of their having been signed. The national associations shall keep a register of the contracts being received. Copies of the contracts shall be sent to FIFA upon request.

Minors may not sign a representation contract without the express permission of their legal guardian(s) in compliance with the national law of the country in which the player is domiciled.

Art. 13

A players' agent may organise his occupation as a business as long as his employees' work is restricted to administrative duties connected with the business activity of a players' agent. Only the players' agent himself is entitled to represent and promote the interests of players and/or clubs with other players and/or clubs. The players' agent shall send the national association that issued him the licence a list of his employees at least once a year. Each employee shall have featured on the list for at least three months before being officially confirmed in office. The players' agent shall immediately notify his national association of any elimination from the list. The elimination then takes immediate effect.

Rights & Obligations of licensed Players' Agents


Art. 14

A licensed players' agent is required:

to adhere, without fail, to the statutes and regulations of the national associations, confederations and FIFA;

- to ensure that every transaction concluded as a result of his involvement complies with the provisions of the aforementioned statutes and regulations;

- never to approach a player who is under contract with a club with the aim of persuading him to terminate his contract prematurely or to flout the rights and duties stipulated in the contract;

- to represent only one party when negotiating a transfer;

- to give, at request, the relevant body at each national association and/or FIFA all of the requisite information and to send in the necessary papers;

- to ensure that his name, signature and the name of his client appear in the relevant contracts resulting from every transaction in which he is involved;

- to comply with the relevant public law provisions governing job placement in the country concerned.

Art. 15

Players' agents who abuse the rights accorded to them or contravene any of the duties stipulated in these regulations are liable to sanctions.

The following sanctions may be pronounced:

- a caution, censure, or warning;

- a fine;

- suspension of the licence;

- withdrawal of the licence.

The sanctions may be imposed jointly.

The foregoing sanctions may be pronounced only by the national association that issued the licence to the offending players' agent or by FIFA. The delimitations of responsibility are stipulated in art. 22, par. 1 and 2 below.

The licence shall be withdrawn if the players' agent fails to fulfil any of the prerequisites for acquiring a licence stipulated under art. 2, 3, 6 and 7 (professional liability insurance or bank guarantee). If this is the case and the omission can be remedied, the appropriate body at the national association shall set him a reasonable deadline in which to reinstate compliance with the rules.

In addition to the reasons given under par. 4, the licence shall be withdrawn, in particular if the players' agent repeatedly or seriously infringes the statutes and regulations of the national associations, confederations and/or FIFA.

The licence shall be withdrawn by the national association which issued it. FIFA reserves the right to direct a national association to mandatorily withdraw a licence.

Players Duties


Art. 16

Players may only call upon the services of a players' agent who holds a licence issued by a national association in compliance with these regulations, subject to the exceptions mentioned in art. 1, par. 3.

The players' agent's name and signature shall, without fail, appear in the relevant employment contract(s) in every transaction in which a players' agent represents the players' interests.

If a player does not use the services of a players' agent, this fact shall also be explicitly stated in the relevant employment contract.


Art. 17

If a player engages the services of a non-licensed players' agent, it is left to the discretion of the national association with which the player is registered (in the case of a national transfer) or FIFA (in the case of an international transfer):

to take this fact into account when judging a player's situation in any dispute arising as a result of such contracts;

to punish the player as follows:

- with a caution, censure or warning;

- with a fine of at least CHF 10,000.--;

- with a disciplinary suspension of up to 12 months.

These sanctions may be imposed jointly.

Duties of the Club

Art. 18

Clubs which wish to engage the services of a player may only deal either:

- with the player himself, or

- with a players' agent who holds a licence issued by a national association in compliance with the provisions of these regulations, subject to the exceptions mentioned in art. 1, par. 3.
For every transaction in which a players' agent represents the interests of a club, his name and signature shall, without fail, appear in the relevant transfer and/or employment contract(s).

If the club does not use the services of a players' agent, this fact shall also be explicitly mentioned in the relevant transfer and/or employment contract(s).

A club which pays another club compensation shall pay it directly to the beneficiary club. It is strictly forbidden for the club making the remittance to pay any of the amount, either partially or wholly, to the players' agent, not even as remuneration.


Art. 19

Any club that infringes any of the bans contained in art. 18 will be liable to the following sanctions:

a caution, censure or warning;

suspension of any or all of its board of directors;

- a fine of at least CHF 20,000.--;

- a ban on any national and/or international players' transfers for at least three months;

- a ban on any kind of national and/or international football activity.

In addition, any transaction which the club makes in contravention of art. 18 above will be declared null and void.

The sanctions may be imposed jointly.

The sanctions listed above may only be pronounced by the national association to which the club is affiliated (in the case of a national transfer) and by FIFA (in the case of an international transfer).

Special Provisions

Art. 20

Any players' agent who decides to terminate his activities as such is obliged to return his licence to the national association that issued it. Failure to comply with this provision will incur cancellation of the licence and publication of this decision.

The national association shall publish the names of those players' agents who have terminated their activities as such and notify FIFA and the relevant confederation immediately.

The players' agent may not cancel his professional liability insurance policy until he has terminated his occupation (the licence has either been returned or withdrawn). The players' agent shall, however, ensure that any claim for compensation made after termination of his occupation, which originates from his former activities as a players' agent, is covered by the insurance (cf. art. 6, par. 4 of these regulations).


Art. 21

The Players' Status Committee is the supervisory and decision-making body of FIFA responsible for implementing these regulations and for ensuring that players' agents carry out their activities in compliance with the Code of Professional Conduct.

Each national association shall designate a supervisory and decision-making body responsible for the activity of players' agents for whom it has issued a licence.

This body shall ensure that the players' agents' activities at national level comply with the principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.

Disputes

Art. 22

In the event of disputes between a players' agent and a player, a club and/or another players' agent, all of whom are registered with the same national association (national disputes), the national association concerned is responsible. It is obliged to deal with the case and pass a decision, for which service it is entitled to charge an appropriate fee.

Any other complaint not covered by par. 1 shall be submitted to the FIFA Players' Status Committee.

Complaints about the work of a players' agent shall be directed in writing to the national association concerned or to FIFA within two years of the incident in question and in any case no later than six months after the players' agent concerned has terminated his activities as such.

Transitional Provisions

Art. 23

Any players' agent who already holds a FIFA licence in accordance with the Regulations governing Players' Agents dated 11 December 1995 may exchange it for a new one at the national association responsible under the terms of art. 2, par. 1 of these regulations within six months of their implementation. These players' agents are not required to take the written examination in compliance with Annexe A of these regulations.

Once the transitional period of six months has elapsed, the validity of the former licence will expire. Any players' agents who have not exchanged their FIFA licence by this time will be required to take the written examination to acquire the new licence at the national association concerned.

Art. 24

Any players' agent who has deposited a bank guarantee with a Swiss bank in compliance with art. 9 of the Regulations governing Players' Agents dated 11 December 1995 may request FIFA to release the bank guarantee upon production of a professional liability insurance policy. The policy shall have been issued by an insurance company that has its headquarters in the country of the national association that is responsible for the players' agents concerned under the terms of art. 2, par. 1.

FIFA will notify the national association concerned of the switch and send it the insurance policy.

Art. 25

Any dispute between a players' agent and a player, a club and/or another players' agent which was submitted to FIFA for settlement by the Players' Status Committee before these regulations came into effect shall be settled in compliance with the Regulations governing Players' Agents dated 11 December 1995.

Any dispute submitted for decision after these regulations come into effect shall be settled in compliance with these regulations by those bodies stipulated under art. 22.

Final Provisions

Art. 26

The FIFA Executive Committee shall have the final say on any matters not provided for under these regulations.

Art. 27

In the event of any discrepancy in the interpretation of the English, French, Spanish or German text of these regulations, the English text is authoritative.

Art. 28

These regulations were adopted by the FIFA Executive Committee at its meeting in Rome on 10 December 2000 and come into effect on 1 March 2001.

Annexe


Annexe A: Examination Procedure

I.

The examination shall be set as a multiple choice test. The candidate will be considered to have passed the examination if he has attained the minimum marks fixed by FIFA (cf. par. 5).

Each candidate shall be tested on the following subjects:

familiarity with the current rules of football, especially in connection with transfers (the statutes and regulations of FIFA, the confederations and the national association in whose country the candidate takes the examination),

familiarity with civil law (basic principles of personal rights) and the law of obligations (law of contract).

Each examination shall contain twenty questions, fifteen on international regulations and five on national regulations.

Each national association shall set its own questions on national subjects whereas FIFA will set the questions on its own statutes and regulations and send the examination papers to be used to the national associations.

FIFA will fix the minimum marks required to pass the examination. Each correct answer will be awarded between one to three marks, depending on the degree of difficulty of the question.

The national associations shall inform the candidates of the minimum marks to be attained before they take the examination.

II.

The examination papers shall be marked immediately after the examination and the candidate informed of the outcome.

A candidate who fails to attain the minimum marks may immediately reapply to retake the examination.

If a candidate fails to attain the minimum marks after the second try, he may not retake it until the next two examination dates have elapsed. Only then may he apply to take the examination a third time, in which case he may choose to be examined by the national association or by FIFA.

Any candidate who fails to attain the minimum marks after the third try may not take the examination again for another two years.

Annexe B: Code of Professional Conduct

I.

The players' agent is required to perform his occupation conscientiously and conduct himself in his profession and other business practices in a manner worthy of respect and befitting his profession.

II.

The players' agent shall adhere to the truth, clarity and objectivity in his dealings with his client, negotiating partners and other parties.

III.

The players' agent shall protect the interests of his client in compliance with the law and a sense of fairness, while creating clear legal relations.


IV.

The players' agent shall, without fail, respect the rights of his negotiating partners and third parties. In particular, he shall respect the contractual relations of his professional colleagues and shall refrain from any action that could entice clients away from other parties.

V.

The players' agent shall conduct a minimum of bookkeeping on his business activities. In particular, he shall ensure that he can provide evidence of his activities at any time by means of documents and other records.

He shall keep all of the books conscientiously and detail his business activities faithfully in other records.

At the request of any authorities conducting an investigation into disciplinary cases and other disputes, the players' agent is required to produce books and records directly connected with the case in point.

The players' agent shall produce an invoice showing his fees, expenses and any other charges upon first demand from his client.

Annexe C: Standard Representation Contract

The parties

...............................................................................................................

(Players' agent's surname, first name, exact address and name of company, if applicable)

.......................................................................(hereafter: the players' agent)

and

..............................................................................................................(Player's surname, first name (and nickname, if applicable), exact address and date of birth or club's name and exact address)

.............................................................................(hereafter: the client)

have agreed to conclude a representation contract as follows:

1) Duration

This contract will be valid for ............................. . It will take effect on

(no. of months, maximum 24)

.......................... and terminate on ..........................

(exact date) (exact date)

2) Remuneration

Only the client may remunerate the players' agent for the work he has accomplished.

a) Player as client

The players' agent shall receive commission amounting to ......... % of the annual gross basic salary due to the player as a result of the employment contracts negotiated by the players' agent.

- a lump sum payment at the start of the employment contract: .....

- annual payments at the end of each contractual year: .....

(mark where appropriate)

b) Club as client

The players' agent shall receive commission in one lump sum amounting to ...................................

(exact amount and currency)

3) Exclusivity

The parties agree that the placement rights be transferred

exclusively: ......

not exclusively: ...... (mark where appropriate)

to the players' agent.

4) Other agreements

Any other special arrangements that comply with the principles contained in the Players' Agents Regulations shall be enclosed with this contract and deposited with the relevant national association.

5) Mandatory legislation

The parties agree to adhere to the public law provisions governing job placement and other mandatory national legal provisions in force in the country concerned as well as in international law and applicable treaties.

6) Final notes

This contract has been signed in fourfold and the copies have been distributed as follows:

1. National association with which the players' agent is registered:

................................................

(exact name)

2. National association with which the client is registered:

.................................................

(exact name)

3. Players' agent

4. Client

Place and date: ....................................................

Players' agent: Client:

....................................................... ...............................................

Confirmation of receipt of contract:

Place and date: ....................................................

The players' agent's The client's

national association: national association:

....................................................... ...............................................



(Stamp and signature) (Stamp and signature)