It’s one of the most lucrative jobs in football. We meet Aussie football’s deal makers who can turn footballers into millionaires in a couple of meetings. Just don’t call them “agents”...
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So, what is the process of becoming an FFA-accredited agent?
The FFA run budding Jerry Maguires through a written exam (see photocopy) to ascertain whether they have, in the words of FFA A-League operations boss Matt Carroll, “a working knowledge of the game in Australia”.
You need at least a 66 percent to pass the exam and the multiple choice questions are set by the FFA (based on the local game) and FIFA. Questions include easy ones (“What is the official name of the Australian national competition?”) to more complex posers about standard playing contracts, legal issues, compensation, regulations and international eligibility. FFA also runs police checks on the applicants and there is an indemnity insurance fee to be paid by the would-be agents.
While the FFA has the power to license agents, the Australian Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) acts as custodians for players in this country, providing “international quality representation and service to Australian professional footballers” according to their mission statement.
As such, the PFA is acutely aware of agents and their activities. It has similar concerns to Mandic, but are able to offer assistance to both parties.
“Our role in relation to agents is twofold,” explains PFA CEO John Didulica. “To assist players – in terms of legal advice, support and rights – with their ongoing relationships with agents as well as give agents themselves assistance in servicing players.”
The PFA recently made a detailed submission to the FFA regarding, among other related issues, the agent licensing accreditation procedures (to read in full go to www.pfa.net.au) which Didulica argues is “not onerous enough”.
“The more onerous it is means you’ll attract those who really want to put in the hard yards to become an agent. Why not make it a diploma degree of 12 months study?” he suggests.
Sticca agrees that once an agent licence is granted, it has to be full-time in order to do the job properly. “With the amount of travelling and contact-making you need to do, both here and overseas, how can you have another job and be a professional agent at the same time?”
So, is 21 agent licenses too many for the 270-odd professional players in Australia? “There is no magic number… it’s about quality not quantity,” reflects Didulica. “But we need full-time agents – it’s a full-time compliance.”
In the short term, FFA has no plans to increase the number of agent licences being granted. At the recent A-League agents’ forum, the number of licensed agents was raised.
“It’s hard to say whether the number is too high or too low,” says Carroll, “but we want to keep a level of competition”. But he adds that “there is no stipulation that [being an agent] should be full-time”.
Didulica, who also sits on the FIFA Disputes Resolution Committee as an AFC representative, cites a case of a player who was forced into military service in one country that he went to play in, and another of a player who thought he had a one-year contract when in fact it was for five years.
“It’s an important role [being an agent], it’s not going to go away so it needs to be governed properly,” he stresses. “It is a job that requires enormous integrity and football experience to properly serve the best interests of the player.”
Interestingly, a recent survey published on the PFA website indicates a majority of players in the A-League don’t trust agents. And this, according to the PFA, is one reason why there is a greater level of players’ trust in player managers as theirs is not solely a “transactional relationship”, says Didulica.
Perhaps it’s not surprising given the amount of money in football and the scope of the game worldwide that some bad eggs will ruin it for the rest. And as Mandic concedes, there are a few good agents who operate as day-to-day managers of players.
“But they are the exception to the rule,” he says. “Tony Stephens… the way he managed the careers of Beckham, Owen and Shearer was brilliant.”
Didulica neatly sums up the dilemma. “Nineteen out of 20 agents will be fine. But it’s that one who can cause massive implications for a player.”
The FFA run budding Jerry Maguires through a written exam (see photocopy) to ascertain whether they have, in the words of FFA A-League operations boss Matt Carroll, “a working knowledge of the game in Australia”.
You need at least a 66 percent to pass the exam and the multiple choice questions are set by the FFA (based on the local game) and FIFA. Questions include easy ones (“What is the official name of the Australian national competition?”) to more complex posers about standard playing contracts, legal issues, compensation, regulations and international eligibility. FFA also runs police checks on the applicants and there is an indemnity insurance fee to be paid by the would-be agents.
While the FFA has the power to license agents, the Australian Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) acts as custodians for players in this country, providing “international quality representation and service to Australian professional footballers” according to their mission statement.
As such, the PFA is acutely aware of agents and their activities. It has similar concerns to Mandic, but are able to offer assistance to both parties.
“Our role in relation to agents is twofold,” explains PFA CEO John Didulica. “To assist players – in terms of legal advice, support and rights – with their ongoing relationships with agents as well as give agents themselves assistance in servicing players.”
The PFA recently made a detailed submission to the FFA regarding, among other related issues, the agent licensing accreditation procedures (to read in full go to www.pfa.net.au) which Didulica argues is “not onerous enough”.
“The more onerous it is means you’ll attract those who really want to put in the hard yards to become an agent. Why not make it a diploma degree of 12 months study?” he suggests.
Sticca agrees that once an agent licence is granted, it has to be full-time in order to do the job properly. “With the amount of travelling and contact-making you need to do, both here and overseas, how can you have another job and be a professional agent at the same time?”
So, is 21 agent licenses too many for the 270-odd professional players in Australia? “There is no magic number… it’s about quality not quantity,” reflects Didulica. “But we need full-time agents – it’s a full-time compliance.”
In the short term, FFA has no plans to increase the number of agent licences being granted. At the recent A-League agents’ forum, the number of licensed agents was raised.
“It’s hard to say whether the number is too high or too low,” says Carroll, “but we want to keep a level of competition”. But he adds that “there is no stipulation that [being an agent] should be full-time”.
Didulica, who also sits on the FIFA Disputes Resolution Committee as an AFC representative, cites a case of a player who was forced into military service in one country that he went to play in, and another of a player who thought he had a one-year contract when in fact it was for five years.
“It’s an important role [being an agent], it’s not going to go away so it needs to be governed properly,” he stresses. “It is a job that requires enormous integrity and football experience to properly serve the best interests of the player.”
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| FFA's Matt Carroll urges players to consult the PFA |
Interestingly, a recent survey published on the PFA website indicates a majority of players in the A-League don’t trust agents. And this, according to the PFA, is one reason why there is a greater level of players’ trust in player managers as theirs is not solely a “transactional relationship”, says Didulica.
Perhaps it’s not surprising given the amount of money in football and the scope of the game worldwide that some bad eggs will ruin it for the rest. And as Mandic concedes, there are a few good agents who operate as day-to-day managers of players.
“But they are the exception to the rule,” he says. “Tony Stephens… the way he managed the careers of Beckham, Owen and Shearer was brilliant.”
Didulica neatly sums up the dilemma. “Nineteen out of 20 agents will be fine. But it’s that one who can cause massive implications for a player.”
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