Representation agreement
A representation agreement is the written contract a football agent must have in place with a client before performing any agent services for them.
The requirement is absolute in form: an agent may only perform football agent services for a client after entering into a written representation agreement with that client, and only an agent may approach a potential client or enter into one.
With an individual, the term may not exceed two years. It can be extended only by a new agreement. Any automatic renewal clause, or anything else purporting to run the term past that maximum, is null and void. An agent may hold only one agreement with the same individual at any one time.
Before entering into or amending an agreement with an individual, the agent must tell them in writing that they should consider taking independent legal advice, and must obtain their written confirmation that they either took it or decided not to.
Agreements with an engaging or releasing entity, meaning clubs rather than players, carry no maximum duration, and an agent may hold several with the same entity provided they relate to different transactions.
Five things must be present or the agreement is not valid: the names of the parties, the duration where applicable, the service fee, the nature of the services, and the signatures.
Worked example
A three-year agreement with a player is not a three-year agreement. The term is capped at two, and the clause purporting to extend it is void rather than merely unenforceable.
An agreement missing the service fee is not a weak agreement. It is not a valid one.
Source: FIFA Football Agent Regulations, art. 12
Related terms
- MandateA mandate is the agreement under which a player appoints an agent to represent them, fixing what the agent is authorised to do, for how long, and what they are paid for doing it.
- Dual representationDual representation is one agent acting for more than one party in the same transaction, which the regulations permit only between a player and the buying club, with prior written consent from both.