Football agent licence
Also called FIFA agent licence
A football agent licence is the authorisation to act as an agent, granted by FIFA once an applicant meets the eligibility requirements, passes the exam and pays the annual fee.
Eligibility comes before the exam, not after it. An applicant must have made no false, misleading or incomplete statements, and must never have been convicted in matters including organised crime, corruption, bribery, money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, match manipulation, breach of fiduciary duty, sexual abuse, violent crime or trafficking. Nor may they have been suspended for two years or more, disqualified or struck off by a regulatory authority or sports governing body over ethics or professional conduct, or hold office or employment with FIFA, a confederation, a member association, a league or a club.
Only once eligibility is satisfied does FIFA invite the applicant to sit the exam. The format, frequency and dates are set by circular rather than fixed in the regulations, which is why they change.
Passing is not the end of it. The annual licence fee must be paid within 90 days of passing, and failure means the application is automatically declared void, with the exam wasted. Holding the licence then requires meeting continuing professional development requirements annually, also set by circular.
An agent may request a temporary suspension or permanent termination of their licence. Terminating is not reversible on request: anyone who has terminated must complete the full application process again to practise in future.
Worked example
An applicant passes the exam in the spring and does not pay the annual fee.
Ninety days later the application is void. Not pending, not lapsed pending payment, void, and the exam has to be sat again.
Source: FIFA Football Agent Regulations, arts. 5 to 10