Soccer agents’ licences revoked as new laws bite
It’s back to square one for even the most experienced ones
DO YOU have an impeccable reputation, a R5 000 registration fee and can convince the SA Football Association (Safa) of your credibility? Then you too can be an intermediary — the new term for football agents.
In November, Fifa, the beautiful game’s world governing body, introduced new regulations that can be seen in many ways as walking away from an industry worth billions, but often termed unscrupulous.
These stringent laws came into effect on April 1 and mean that even the most prominent of player agents — like South Africa’s very own Mike Makaab from Prosport International — have had their licences revoked.
Safa confirmed this week that applications have been flooding in and background checks have begun as the methods to conduct transfers take a completely different turn.
That is probably the least complicated part of this new directive. What’s caused quite a stir is that anyone, for instance your uncle who’s always fancied himself as a smooth negotiator, can be a player’s representative if he can satisfy Safa that he is fit and proper.
It’s probably going to be akin to the Wild West. But what has infuriated those formerly known as agents is that the commission on all deals where intermediaries have acted on behalf of a club or player will now be capped at 3%, potentially putting people out of business, as far as Paul Mitchell, MD of sports group Siyavuma, is concerned.
It’s all in the name of transparency, says Fifa. And they have convinced Safa that the deregulation of this business will help to rid football of corruption, with the burden falling on national associations to supervise agents — as a system that’s had its flaws, but for the most part worked, ends.
“The face of the football agen-
The face of the football agency will change completely
cy will change completely,” said Tim Sukazi, a practising lawyer who doubles as an agent that club bosses love to hate because of his shrewd negotiating skills.
“A 3% cap is a substantial reduction of a person’s earnings, whichever way you look at it. If you don’t believe me, call a European-based agent and ask them their opinion and they will tell you where to get off.
“Any reduction of revenue by 7% is huge.”
So what was wrong with the old way of brokering deals and taking home, on average, anything between a 5% to 10% commission from a player’s gross income?
Fifa argues that there were concerns about transactions that “had become the breeding ground for behaviour which has been and can be harmful to football”. Non-licensed agents had their way, and even deals involving the licensed mediators were sometimes muddy.
The integrity of the game was on the line. But agents now feel their livelihood is on the line, even though Fifa is seeking tighter control. For Sukazi and his colleagues, the relationship between player and agent — the intermediary — doesn’t end when a new contract is signed.
One agent who recently went to hell and back with a client best summed it up by claiming: “I did just about everything but wipe his backside.
“But do I charge him a com- mission for that? No. Ask any of my players; I’ve never demanded a single cent from them.”
The reality is that corruption could increase rather than decrease under this new regulation, but Safa have threatened clubs with a R100 000 penalty fee should they fail to tow the line.