SAFA to revise policy document on agents

The South African Football Association is expected to revise its policy on agents following new FIFA rules that have come into effect.

As of October 1, the world football governing body implemented fresh laws on player representatives and insisted that those who want to be ac-credited must write – and pass – an exam which required a 75 percent pass rate.

Soccer Laduma understands several agents who failed the test written late last month will only get a chance to rewrite in April. But the show must go on… The Siya crew has since learnt SAFA will, in the coming weeks, look to de-velop a new document that addresses the intermediary landscape, among the topical issues being the percent at which their commissions are capped.

Sources in the know have indicated that the procurement amount to player representatives is an upward of seven percent at the moment in Mzansi, but this could soon change.

According to FIFA’s new regulations, a cap on all service fees will limit agents to earning three percent of a player’s total salary as per contract when they are representing a player, three percent of that salary when an agent is handling the affairs for the buyer and then six percent of that wage when an agent is representing both the player and the buyer.

The payment structure will then come from the FIFA clearing house, hence the governing body is insisting on these exams so that all intermediaries are loaded legally on their system for tracking purposes.

However, there’s no clarity yet from SAFA when this will be finalised… or at all.