FIFA has revealed that football clubs spent a record $881.1million (£701m) on agent fees in 2023.
This is an increase of 42.5 per cent from 2022, where teams spent $623.2m (£492m) on agents and more than the previous record of $654.7m (£516.9m), which was set in 2019.
FIFA’s Football Agents in International Transfers Report also revealed that clubs from England paid the largest amount in agent fees, totalling more than $280million (£221.1m).
This comes at a time when FIFA is attempting to overhaul the sector by introducing a new set of regulations — called FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR). These were due to come into force on October 1, but have been subject to legal challenges across Europe.
FIFA wants agent fees capped at three per cent on all player salaries over £161,000 per year and to limit payments to agents for brokering transfers to 10 per cent of the fee.
In November, football intermediaries in England won a ruling against the introduction of the new rules, which means they have been blocked from coming into effect. Following an appeal from four leading agencies — CAA Base, Wasserman, Stellar and ARETE — an English FA tribunal concluded that the introduction of a fee cap and pro rata payment rules would breach the Competition Act 1998.
FIFA’s end-of-year report detailed how clubs from Saudi Arabia, who spent heavily on new signings in the summer transfer window, paid out the second-highest amount — but were still some distance behind English sides — in agent fees at $86million (£67.9m).
The report also notes that for the first time, clubs in women’s professional football surpassed $1million (£790k) in agent fees, with their total hitting $1.4m (£1.1m).
FIFA’s figures do not include agent fees for domestic transfers.
What are the key takeaways from the report?
Clubs are spending more than ever on agent fees at a time when FIFA is trying to clamp down on how much intermediaries can earn from a transfer.
English sides, unsurprisingly, are the biggest spenders, while the report also details European sides were responsible for the majority (86.6 per cent) of global spending on agents.
The fact women’s clubs have spent £1.1m on agent fees, hitting seven figures for the first time, highlights its continued growth and the increased investment clubs are putting into their sides.
So, why does FIFA want to introduce new regulations?
FIFA felt the previous regulations were not fit for purpose and that the transfer system is being driven by speculation, which allows agents to extract fees that are not in line with the service they provided.
This, FIFA said, was to the detriment of players, clubs and football in general.
The governing body thinks that agents can exploit the economics of a transfer fee by planting false speculation and would hold up a transfer and use the time pressure to increase the commission they would stand to earn.
As part of the new regulations, agents had to become licensed by FIFA, which meant sitting an exam.
The report says that FIFA received 19,973 licensing applications. The tests were held over two separate dates — in April and September. Of the 19,973 applicants, only 9,207 of them took the exam on one of two dates. FIFA reveals that 32.6 per cent of those sitting the test passed.
What has the reaction been?
Many agents believe the regulations are unlawful, which is why FIFA has been challenged in multiple courts across Europe.
The most recent ruling came via that FA tribunal, where it was ruled that the implantation of a fee cap and pro rata payment rules would breach British competition rules.
The European Football Agents Association lost its case against FIFA in the Netherlands Central Court in May, having argued that they had no authority to regulate the industry.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) also dismissed a case lodged by the Professional Football Agents Association but, in Germany, a temporary injunction was granted preventing the regulations from being implemented, pending a decision by the European Court of Justice.
What does the FA’s tribunal report say?
The tribunal’s decision was published on Thursday and although it was broadly viewed as a success for the agents, it did agree with FIFA on several points — namely on preventing agents representing both a club and player in a deal and clubs from paying an agent’s fees on a player’s behalf unless the annual salary is below £161,000
The tribunal did, though, disagree with FIFA’s view that the cap on fees would improve issues with the previous system and solve problems with the transfer market. It said it was unable “to discern any justifiable connection between the fee cap and the claimed abuses and market failures”.
It also stated that FIFA anticipated a problem with EU competition law, with regard to the fee cap, but proceeded anyway, knowing “that it would have to find a legal justification to support it”. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the award adds, also acknowledged potential “legal obstacles” with a fee cap in October 2017.
The tribunal’s award also noted that “(the PowerPoint presentation made by FIFA in the proceedings) contained an offensive caricature representing an agent with dollar signs above his head and a money bag in one hand and bank notes in the other”.
How have agents responded to its publication?
Chris Yates, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance, who represented CAA Base, Wasserman, Stellar and ARETE in the proceedings, said: “We are delighted to have helped our clients in securing a positive and vital outcome for their respective businesses.
“It was extremely hard-fought litigation, where our clients were facing a well-resourced opponent in FIFA that was committed to its agenda.
“Our clients have been consistent throughout their engagement with both FIFA and the FA that they welcome the regulation of the agent industry, but that FIFA had overstepped in seeking to impose illegitimate restrictions on their leading businesses without proper consultation.”
When the ruling was announced on November 30, FIFA said it had “taken note” of the decision and highlighted how it “affects only two of the multiple provisions of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations”.
“Other key provisions were endorsed by the Tribunal, including those preventing agents from representing multiple clients in a transfer, and requiring that the client pays the agent – both of which were unsuccessfully challenged by the agents,” its statement read.
(Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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