FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries Liberalisation or
FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries Liberalisation or devolution? 1 MICHELE COLUCCI
FIFA 2 • A NEW LIBERAL APPROACH….
DEFINITION 3 A natural or legal person who, for a fee or free of charge, represents players and/or clubs in negotiations with a view to concluding an employment contract or represents clubs in negotiations with a view to concluding a transfer agreement.
GOALS 4 Protect the integrity of football Safeguared high ethical standards Attack any illegal or unethical practice or circumstances Enable proper control and transparency of players transfers
Who is responsibile of What? A Functionalist approach 5 Switch of responsibilities From FIFA to the National Associations Implement minimum standards Set up a registration system New adressees : Players (P)and Clubs (C) From agents' access to the profession To the monitoring of obligations of P and C while working with Intermediaries (I) P and C are responsible for the obligations concerning I (signature and registration of contracts) !
Access to Profession 6 No Selection anymore No professional liability insurance No bank guarantee BUT…. .
Access to Profession 7 • Exam: Czech Rep. , Denmark (only for the "certified I" ), Ukraine • • ("permanent I") Interview: Argentina, Slovak rep. , Spain. (high risk of subjectivity) Professional Liability insurance: Argentina, Brazil, Cz Rp. Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal. Proof of Tax compliance: Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, Slovak rep. Social Security compliance: Belgium, Portugal Residence: Argentina, Paraguay, Turkey Work permit: Mexico Licence (exam): France • • • Authorization from cantonal empl. (and obligation to co-operate with a Swiss Interme): Switzerland • Bachelor's degree (Bulgaria, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia)
MORE TRANSPARENCY 8 1. A new Registration process 2. The Intermediary Declaration 3. The Representation contract 4. Disclosure of all relevant documents to the national association Obligation to disclose, Omission will lead to sanctions on C and P although the registration and the transfer will remain valid. Sanctions for the same violation will vary from Association to Association!!! Whistleblowing (Ukraine): Sanction for any non reported omission concerning third parties!!!
REGISTRATION PROCESS 9 Intermediaries must be registered every time they are individually involved in a specific transaction (art. 3) Registration for each transaction: (Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Russia, Serbia) Yearly registration or only one registration (if eligibility criteria are met): (Bulgaria, England, Mexico, NL, Paraguay, Poland , Qatar Romania) Dual registration (one for the intermediaries and one for each transaction) Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.
Registration process Particularities 10 Italy: a foreign "I" does not need to be registered with FIGC, but needs to be registered with his own association England: registration with the FA irrespective of any other registration Brazil: registration with the CBF or alternatevely co-operation with a registered "I" in Brazil Switzerland: co-operation with an "I" registered in CH
REGISTRATION PROCESS Costs 11 From zero ( Croatia, France, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland) To a Maximum of 5812 Euros for each Transaction in Ukraine and 5000 Euros per intermediary every year in the UAE
12 FIFA Innovations: Intermediary declaration "THE IMPECCABLE REPUTATION" Certificates: Croatia, the Netherlands "Test of Good Character and Reputation" (disqualifying conditions): The FA Extended proof of good conduct (for any administrative, civil or tax law infringement): Germany Authorisation to investigate and obtain any kind of information even from third parties: Spain Honorability certified by two renowned personalities from the football world: Colombia
Representation contract FIFA: yes to dual representation 13 • BUT forbidden in Bulgaria, France, Japan, Paraguay, Portugal and Russia • Yes, in all others and… • England Romania, yes but with more guarantees and transparency conditions
Representation Contract exclusivity 14 FIFA: not required Germany : prohibited Czech republic and Italy: yes, an intermediary cannot sign a representation contract with a player or a club already represented by another intermediary
Representation contract duration 15 Brazil, Croatia, Cyprus, England, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Slovak Republic, Turkey, Ukraine: max 2 years Bulgaria and Czech Republic: max 3 years
REMUNERATION FIFA 3 % cap 16
REMUNERATION FIFA RECOMMENDS… 3 % cap 17 - 3 % still recommended in 15 countries: Brazil, Denmark, England, Italy, Japan, Poland, Qatar… - 3 % mandatory: Cyprus, Paraguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and the UAE - 5 % : Switzerland - 7 %: Bulgaria - 10 %: Croatia, France and Ukraine - 14 %: Germany - No cap: Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Portugal - Silent rules in Spain
Minors FIFA: no remuneration at all 18 • 17 out of 32 of examined associations fully • • implemented the FIFA rules (Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Japan, Portugal) England: even stricter rules Czech and Slovak republic: yes remuneration Silence in Italy but for amateurs no remuneration. Germany: judges in favor of remuneration if minor has a Licensed professional contract
Disclosure and Publication of data (art. 6, para. 1) 19 Players and/or clubs are required to disclose to their respective association the full details of: any and all agreed remunerations or payments of whatsoever nature that they have made or that are to be made to an intermediary All contracts, agreements and recors with intermediaries in connection with the transfer or empl. Agreement. Argentina and Spain go beyond the scope of such a rule: even payments not strictly related to the transfer Federations must publish by the end of March each year: - Names of registered players - Single transacation - Total amount of all remunerations or payments actually made
Disciplinary Sanctions (art. 9) 20 "Associations are responsible for the imposition of sanctions on any party under their jurisdiction that violates the provisions of these Regulations, their statutes or regulations". "Associations are obliged to publish accordingly and to inform FIFA of any disciplinary sanctions taken against any intermediary. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will then decide on the extension of the sanction to have worldwide effect in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code". Issues: National Associations have jurisdiction even on international transfers. Intermediaries need to be aware of every national statute to comply with!
Disciplinary Sanctions 21 P, C, I: Warning, fine, reprimand, suspension, revocation of the registration (Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany…) Denmark: heavy sanctions: Players can be banned from a match Clubs can be temporay banned from concluding and extending players 'contract, making national and int. transfers, and be excluded from nat and int. tournaments Only sanctions againts I: Japan, the Netherlands, Poland Only sanctions against C & P: Ukraine
Disputes Resolution 22 Responsibility with national associations Ordinary labour courts and civil courts on civil and commercial issues parties can wave off those courts in order to defer disputes to Arbitration Body (BE, DK, FR, DE, GR, Mexico) Argentina, Cyprus, Italy, and Japan: parties may choose sports bodies or ordinary court England: FA arbitral tribunal Russia: obligation to go before the Sports Arbitration Court Serbia and Uruguay: only ordinary courts
BEST PRACTICES 23 • Certified intermediaries (Denmark) • Mandatory training courses (Turkey) • Certification for associations of intermediaries (The Netherlands)
IMPACT ON SPORTS STAKEHOLDERS 24 • Disadvantages - • Advantages Too many differences More in national measures Transparency Risk of contradictions More freedom for Increase of difficulties players for intermediary Financial balance More responsibility for Players and Clubs
Conclusions 25 No liberalization but rather devolution! Overall positive assessment Further improvements and sistematic review of the implementation in the future
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