FIFA's review of transfers, transfers and contracts during the pandemic, and the 'agents' issue

FIFA will review whether the exceptional measures on transfers and contracts adopted by the current crisis should be extended or modified and plans to put into operation the Clearing House in early 2021 and the agent regulation system in September of that year.

“Having seen all the ideas that were agreed and the new instructions that were given in June, I think they have been a success. One is pleased to see that in Spain, where there is a decree 1006, a collective agreement, specialist lawyers and well-known clubs formed, the contract extension system after June 30, which is what FIFA proposed, has been followed by 90-95% of the players and see that this has also occurred in England, Argentina and African countries “, his head of Legal Affairs, the Spanish Emilio García Silvero, told EFE.

In your opinion, FIFA has been working fairly quickly since the COVID-19 pandemic began its international expansion, with the creation of a working commission in early April and a document agreed with leagues, clubs and unions on what was the vision of all parties and FIFA, plus a second document in June with explanations and new ideas regarding the First.

“For us it was initially very complex. Considering that FIFA governs, between quotation marks, for 211 jurisdictions, dictating rules that could fit in Argentina, Spain and Saudi Arabia is difficult and changing the entire system in 45 days has also been a challenge “But our assessment is positive thanks to the collaboration of all. They are agreed documents, which come from the agreement between all parties and that has been success,” he said.

In statements to EFE García Silvero recalled that “many of the measures”, which also affect the transfer system, “are temporary” and that the FIFA Council will continue to monitor the situation to see if these should be extended or new ones are needed once the most active summer market closes.

“Last year we had between 4 and 5 billion euros invested in the summer market. Expectations for it are different and once the transfer window closes, this time a little more widely, we will sit down with the union in September of players, leagues and clubs and we'll see to what extent we have to keep changing things “, he pointed.

He also referred to FIFA's regulatory projects for the coming year, such as the Clearing House, which plans to start operating in January 2021, so that all the money from the training clubs arrives, and the regulation of the agent system from September 2021.

“The idea is that the payments to the agents go through the 'Clearing House', that there is absolute transparency about these payments. The principles are already established by the FIFA Council, with many new features such as a world court for agent disputes, a worldwide licensing and examination system. We want to raise the standards that right now are none and recover and establish some basic requirements so that someone who wants to be a footballer's agent is one, but with guarantees, “he explained.

The Spanish lawyer, who joined FIFA in September 2018, after six years as head of UEFA's disciplinary and integrity services and having worked at the Spanish Football Federation since 2004, expressed his satisfaction with the resolution. court in favor of the organization in the dispute with a Brazilian company for the use of the spray.

“It has been won in the first instance. We have always been calm at the bottom of the matter and confident that what we had done was correct. They have announced that they are going to appeal, but the decision confirms our position,” he stressed.