Player Management Information

As required by FIFA and following a PFA submission of late 2006 to FFA on the reform of the regulatory provisions of player agents in Australia, FFA developed a new set of regulations in July 2007 specifically for player agents which adopted the key elements of the PFA submission where consistent with the overarching FIFA Regulations.

The FFA Players’ Agents Regulations aim to protect the welfare and interests of players by governing the conduct of player agents and regulating the services provided by agents. However, the fact an agent holds a FIFA licence does not guarantee the quality of his or her service.

With the increasing number of players involved in disputes with their agents, the PFA strongly advises all players to ensure their agent’s contract contains an express right of termination for unsatisfactory performance or be included as a clause in the Representation Agreement to allow either party to terminate the agreement for breach of the FFA Players’ Agents Regulations.

Players should also aim to ensure they do not pay more than 3% to 5% of their professional football income to an agent, as shown in the table below. This is certainly the case within the A-League. Commissions up to 8% may be payable in some countries, but this is the exception not the rule. Agents will often try to seek a higher commission, or advise a player not to worry about it as it is being paid by the club. Any commission paid by the club will obviously affect the amount the club can pay the player. In Holland, for instance, Dutch law requires the commissions to be paid by the club, which are between 5% and 7%. The PFA is able to advise players about the level of commissions they can expect to pay in most countries around the world.