The (dark) world of football brokers has become a forest where you cannot longer see the trees. Many lawyers, specialized in the rights of sporters, are facing more & more issues on it.

Until the first of April 2015 Fifia was offering some kind of a guarantee of quality. Even though 70% off al transfers happened already without a Fifa confirmed broker. Now they abolished that ‘system ‘ as well. So at this moment there is no longer a system. Since the abolition it became very easy to become a broker. In Western Europe, all you need to do is a small fee between 250-1000euro and show a good behavior document. Info required? Ohh, just give the money my friend.

Set? Ready? Go!

Since 2015 everybody who saw the light, became a broker. A hairdresser, a local farmer even my dog if he could speak and give the amount could have started as a broker. Since that time, many people started this and now Fifa is confirming there is a problem.

What’s next?

Fifa was too lax, maybe too lazy and didn’t think about the future, in my personal opinion. Now with the recent scandals about black money a new wind is flowing in the most important soccer organization. They have made a statement now to clean up the mess caused by themselves years ago.

Many brokers today, they live from one deal to another, looking for the fee and not really caring about the player. The player is just a number in their eyes. For these brokers it is important to do well with the clubs, shake many hands and be sympathy. This causes the fact they have more then often an conflict of interest and don’t always go for the best for the player.

But there are also brokers with a stronger connection with their player. They assist a player in the longer term. Like a father, including on commercial, fiscal and legal matters. The fee they earn on a transfer, for example, they partly use to pay for the support of the player.

Those ‘fathers’ are the ones these days who feel they lose more and more grip. This is mainly because the contracts they concluded with their players are not legally waterproof. For example, it is difficult to obtain exclusivity from a player as a broker.

In reality, brokers also allow themselves getting paid ( due to fiscal reasons ) by the clubs and not by the player, but they do not have a waterproof contract with the club before the transaction.

The result can be guessed easily. Players are snapped from them in extremis. For example, it may happen that a broker who has invested in a player for years does not earn anything when 'his' player realizes a lucrative transfer to a team where he can earn more.

It is time for Fifa to do something about it … one day.

I will share more info of the dark side of football after finishing this book below. Stay tuned!