“The right steps to work with the mess and chaos in football”: FIFA approved the limitation of payments to agents and reduction of rents

Principal decision

In world football, serious organizational changes are coming soon. On Wednesday, September 25th, members of the International Football Federation (FIFA) sports industry stakeholder committee made a fundamental decision to recommend a series of measures to limit compensation payments to agents, and also proposed a limit on the number of rental transfers during the season.

The changes will affect all leagues in the world and can be officially approved at the next meeting of the FIFA Council, which will be held on October 24.

First of all, world football bosses are recommended to establish strict control over financial flows between clubs and intermediaries in the transfer market.

It is about paying commissions to agents. They are invited to pay no more than 10% of the official transaction amount and 3% of the football player’s salary. The same 3% will be a reward for the club representatives who are involved in the redemption of rights to a new player. In addition, a proposal was made to limit the number of participants in the transfer process to a minimum. The interests of one player should not be represented by several agents.

Innovative ideas will also affect the principles of team composition. So, starting from the next season, club managers will have to take football players lease agreements more seriously.

According to the draft new rules, for one season, eight players can be rented or leased to another championship. A year later, in the season 2022/23, the number of such transit crossings will decrease to six people. Moreover, the maximum number of rental agreements between the same clubs cannot exceed three in both directions.

Rental restrictions will apply to players aged 22 and over.

What is the aim of FIFA?

The idea of ​​making transfers more transparent was a personal initiative of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The functionary actively criticized the current model while still being a UEFA employee, and after winning the election in 2016, he actively took up the matter thoroughly.

“We must do this, we must find some solution. We need to make it transparent and clean. Everyone who has a job has the right to make money. This is very correct. But this must happen in a regulated environment. We must regulate this, because we are talking about the image of football, ”Infantino said in November 2017.

Later, the head of FIFA added that the main goal of such control is to maintain the integrity of tournaments and return to the world championships the principle of fair competition, which will not depend on shadow agents and the budget of rivals.

As for the limited version of the transfer lease, this measure will be taken in order to suppress the activities of some of the grandees of world football that several dozens of players can send to other clubs over the off-season.

One of the striking examples of the London “Chelsea”, which for several years already sends more than 30 players to gain experience in other teams.

Over time, the new interest rate in the work of agents will make itself felt. FIFA strives to make the entire financial settlement system completely transparent, not only for a select circle of football bosses, but also for ordinary gamers.

A fixed percentage of agents will help FIFA track suspiciously expensive transactions, in addition, over time, the international federation intends to deal with the calculation of salaries for players. In the long-term planning, there is a project of a direct relationship between the salaries of football players and the real income of the clubs.

How will this affect Russia?

The new football laws, if they are finally approved by FIFA, will affect the RFU. Meanwhile, domestic sports officials spoke out positively about possible changes in the global soccer system. According to the Honorary President of the RFU, Vyacheslav Koloskov, new restrictions will benefit all leagues.

“The right steps to work with the mess and chaos that is happening in football. Now you can assemble a whole team of rented football players, many of whom will not even play a single match for their new club. The new approach is absolutely correct, ”Koloskov said in an interview with RT.

In addition, he emphasized that strict rules on the limit on the rental of players affect the RPL to a lesser extent.

“We often use this option in the domestic market because of a convenient system of mutual settlements ... In general, this innovation will not negatively affect us,” the football official said.

According to Koloskov, the priority for the Russian leagues will be the direction to control compensation to agents and intermediaries. In an interview with RT, the expert expressed the hope that the new rules will eradicate questionable transactions, scandalous transitions in Russian football, as well as reduce the level of influence of agents on the leadership of local clubs.

“Nobody regulates agents in any way. Incomprehensible bonuses, payments. There are currently no levers and tools to track their activities. Previously, agents were required to officially register with FIFA, after which the authority to work with them was transferred to the national federations. It’s only on the ground that no one is tracking who, like the main thing, how much they are working for, ”summed up Koloskov.