An overview of FIFA’s ‘Phase 2’ reforms – agents, loans and clearing house

Stakeholders in world football have witnessed a host of regulatory changes brought about by FIFA, particularly over the last two years.
FIFA’s 6 year cooperation agreement1 with FIFPro (the World Players’ Union), entered into in November 2017 to improve the governance of professional football was a catalyst for the several changes that have followed.
Most recently, in September 2019, FIFA announced2 two significant changes, namely:
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a mandatory cap on agent commissions, as part of the re-regulation of agent activity; and
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the regulation of the loan system.
These changes, along with the proposed clearing house formed the second phase of reform (Phase 2 Reforms) and were discussed in detail by Mr Emilio García Silvero, Chief Legal Officer at FIFA at the International Congress on Football Law held in Madrid in the last week of September 2019 (RFEF Congress).
This article will provide an overview and analysis of the Phase 2 Reforms.
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- Tags: Agents | Association of Football Agents (AFA) | Bridge Transfers | Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) | European Club Association (ECA) | European Commission | European Football Agents Association (EFAA) | FIFA | FIFA Council | FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee | FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players | FIFA Transfer Matching System | FIFPro | Football | Intermediaries | Loans | World Leagues Forum
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Written by
Tiran Gunawardena
Tiran Gunawardena is a Principal Associate (Australian Qualified) in the London sports law team at Mills & Reeve LLP. Tiran was selected by Who’s Who Legal: Sports and Entertainment as a leading sports lawyer in the UK in 2020, 2019 and 2018. Tiran is a regulatory sports lawyer specialising in international and domestic sports arbitration, with significant experience with proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and regulatory matters in sport. He is dual qualified as an Australian solicitor and chartered accountant, and holds a Master in International Sports Law from ISDE (Madrid). Tiran is on the Arbitral Board and Disciplinary Committee of the UCI, and is on the Formula One Cost Cap Adjudication Panel. Tiran is also an England Boxing and British Gymnastics Disciplinary Panel member. Prior to working at Mills & Reeve, Tiran spent almost 4 years working in the Corporate Tax and M&A team at PwC Sydney.