How to become
a football agent.

The licence is not optional, and no, a lawyer cannot get around it

This is the most common misconception about becoming a football agent: that having legal knowledge, or being a practising lawyer, gives you the right to represent players and collect commissions.

It does not.

Under the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), any person who conducts agent activity, representing a player, a club, or a coach in a football transaction, must hold a valid, registered football agent licence. This applies globally, across all FIFA member associations, without exception.

The consequence of operating without a licence is severe. FIFA and national federations can impose:

• Financial sanctions and fines against the unlicensed individual
• Bans from all football-related activity
• Nullification of any contracts or transactions in which the unlicensed person participated
• Sanctions against the club or player who used an unlicensed agent

In France, the law goes one step further. The Code du sport explicitly prohibits lawyers (avocats) from practising the profession of sports agent. The two roles are legally incompatible under French law. A lawyer may advise a player on a contract once it is presented, but they cannot represent the player in negotiations, source the deal, or receive a commission. That activity requires a specific sports agent licence.

The distinction matters because many people entering this profession underestimate the regulatory barrier. The licence is not a formality. It is the professional threshold that separates legal representation from unlicensed activity.

The international framework: FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR)

The current regulatory landscape was established by the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), which came into force on 9 January 2023 and became fully operational on 1 October 2023. These regulations replaced the previous system, which, after 2015, had largely left the profession unregulated.

The FFAR operates at the global level. It applies to any transaction involving FIFA, a confederation, a national federation, a league, a club, or a player. Every licensed FIFA football agent must comply with it, regardless of nationality or country of operation.

The key obligations under FFAR are:

• Registration and annual licence renewal on the FIFA Football Agent Platform
• Passing the FIFA Football Agent Examination (required for new licences)
• Professional liability insurance covering agent activities
• Clean criminal record, no convictions for dishonesty, financial crime, or physical violence
• No conflict of interest: agents cannot be employed by clubs, hold ownership stakes in clubs, or hold any position that creates a structural conflict with player representation
• Written representation agreements for every mandate
• Commission caps: maximum 3% of the player's gross remuneration (when representing the player), maximum 3% of the transfer fee from the buying club (when representing that club), or maximum 6% in dual-representation arrangements, subject to strict transparency requirements

Important: the FIFA licence is the international floor. Individual countries can, and several do, impose additional national requirements on top of it. Holding a FIFA licence does not automatically authorise you to collect commissions in every country. You may need a national licence as well.

The FIFA Football Agent licence, how it works

Eligibility requirements

To apply for the FIFA Football Agent licence, candidates must meet the following minimum conditions:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Hold no criminal convictions related to dishonesty, financial crime, or violence
• Not be currently banned from football-related activities
• Not hold a position (employment, ownership, directorship) at a football club that would create a conflict of interest
• Have access to a computer and internet connection for the online examination

There is no minimum education requirement at the FIFA level. There is no requirement for a law degree or any prior football career. What matters is passing the examination.

The FIFA Football Agent Examination: format and content

The FIFA exam is the formal gateway into the profession at the international level. It is conducted online, through the FIFA Football Agent Platform, in a proctored environment. Candidates take the exam from their own location using their own laptop, and must also use a second device (such as a phone) to record themselves during the session.

The examination consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, to be completed in 60 minutes. The pass mark is 75%, meaning you must answer at least 15 out of 20 questions correctly.

The exam is open book: you can access official FIFA materials during the session. This does not make it easy. The questions are drawn from a rotating bank and frequently involve scenario-based analysis rather than simple definitions. A candidate who has only read the regulations once will struggle. A candidate who knows them in depth will move through the questions with confidence.

The four core documents to master are:

• FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), the primary text, covering all aspects of agent licensing, obligations, and commission rules
• FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), governing transfers, contracts, training compensation, and solidarity mechanisms
• FIFA Statutes, the constitutional framework of FIFA and its member associations
• FIFA Disciplinary Code, sanctions and enforcement procedures

How hard is the exam, the real numbers

The FIFA exam has become progressively more demanding. Official pass rate data tells a clear story:

• 2023 (1st edition): 52% pass rate
• 2024: 40.4% pass rate
• 2025: 18% pass rate, out of 9,148 applications, only approximately 1,394 candidates earned their licence

The decline is deliberate. FIFA has systematically increased the difficulty of the question bank to raise the professional standard of licensed agents. The open-book format does not change the fact that navigating 20 regulatory questions in 60 minutes, including scenario-based cases, requires substantial, detailed preparation.

Candidates who treat the exam as a formality fail it. Candidates who spend weeks studying the FFAR and RSTP in depth give themselves a real chance.

Exam sessions and annual licence

FIFA organises multiple exam sessions per year. The 2026 session windows run in spring (April–May) and autumn, exact dates are published on the FIFA Football Agent Platform. The annual licence fee is payable upon registration and must be renewed each year to maintain active status.

The FFF licence, what France requires

France is one of the most regulated countries in the world for sports agent activity. The Fédération Française de Football (FFF) imposes its own national licence requirement, governed by the French Sports Code (Code du sport, articles R222-1 to R222-42) and Decree 2011-686.

Any person wishing to practice as a football agent in France, meaning representing players in French football transactions and collecting commissions, must hold the FFF licence. The FIFA licence alone is not sufficient to legally operate in France. The two licences are separate and both required for agents working in the French market.

Two exams, not one

Unlike the FIFA examination, which is a single online test, the FFF licence requires passing two separate written examinations:

1. The general examination (Épreuve générale)

The general exam is organised by the CNOSF (Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français) and is common to all sports in France, not just football. It evaluates whether the candidate has the legal and professional knowledge required to practice as a sports agent in any discipline.

The examination covers:

• Social and labour law
• Tax law as it applies to athletes and agents
• Contract law and commercial agreements
• Insurance obligations
• The legal framework of sport in France

This examination takes place once per year, typically in November, in Paris or the Île-de-France region. Registrations open from July onwards via the FFF website.

2. The specific examination (Épreuve spécifique)

The specific exam is organised directly by the FFF and tests mastery of football regulations, both at the national and international level. It is football-specific and requires a working knowledge of:

• FFF regulations and statutes
• Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) rules
• FIFA regulations (FFAR, RSTP)
• UEFA regulations relevant to French clubs and players
• Transfer procedures in the French context

The specific exam takes place in March, organised separately from the general exam. For the 2025–2026 season, the specific exam was held on 23 March 2026.

Both examinations must be passed to obtain the FFF licence. They do not need to be passed in the same academic year, a candidate who passes the general exam in November may sit the specific exam the following March.

FFF eligibility requirements

To be admitted to the FFF examinations, candidates must:

• Hold a baccalauréat (French high school diploma) or equivalent, or demonstrate relevant professional experience
• Hold no criminal convictions incompatible with the profession (offences involving dishonesty, financial crime, or matters of professional trust)
• Not be subject to any sports-related ban or disciplinary sanction

Only natural persons (individuals) can hold an FFF licence. Corporate entities cannot be licensed as sports agents under French law.

Annual fee and European citizens

The FFF licence carries an annual registration fee of €500. The licence must be renewed each year and is tied to compliance with FFF regulations.

European Union and EEA nationals who are not French residents have two options: they can apply for permanent establishment in France (same process as above) or apply for a prestation de services authorisation to operate on a temporary or occasional basis in France without full establishment. The FFF processes both through specific application forms on its website.

One important clarification from the FFF itself: registering with a private training organisation that claims to prepare you for the exam does not constitute registration for the exam. Exam registration is done directly through the FFF, not through third-party prep providers.

Country by country: what each federation requires

The level of national regulation varies significantly across Europe. Here is how the four major Western European football markets compare:

France, FFF licence required (exam mandatory)

France is among the most regulated markets. The FFF licence is mandatory for anyone collecting commissions in French football transactions. Two exams are required. Lawyers are explicitly excluded from the profession. Annual fee: €500. The FIFA licence alone does not authorise agent activity in France.

Italy, FIGC licence required (exam mandatory)

Italy mirrors the French model. The FIGC (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) requires candidates to pass examinations at both the FIGC and CONI levels. Holders of a valid FFF licence or a pre-2015 FIFA licence may benefit from exemptions from certain Italian exam requirements. Annual fee: €1,000.

Spain, RFEF registration (no national exam)

Spain currently operates on a lighter-touch model. The RFEF (Real Federación Española de Fútbol) introduced regulations in November 2023 implementing the FIFA FFAR at the national level, but does not require candidates to pass a formal national exam. Registration requires identification documents, a criminal record check, a CV, and a basic interview to verify minimum knowledge of football regulations. Annual registration fee: €861. Note: a pending ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union means that certain aspects of the RFEF regulations are not yet fully in force.

England, FA registration (no national exam)

England and Wales operate through the Football Association (FA) with an administrative registration model. No national examination is required beyond compliance with FIFA FFAR. Agents operating in Premier League transactions must be registered with the FA. Annual fee: £500 + VAT.

Which licence do you actually need?

The answer depends on where you intend to operate. Here is the practical logic:

• You want to operate internationally (across multiple countries, including cross-border transfers): the FIFA licence is your baseline. You need it to participate in any FIFA-regulated transaction. Get this first.
• You want to operate primarily in France: you need both the FIFA licence and the FFF licence. The FFF licence is the one that authorises you to collect commissions on French-market transactions. The FIFA licence alone does not cover this.
• You want to operate primarily in Italy: same logic, you need both the FIFA licence and the FIGC licence.
• You want to operate primarily in Spain or England: the FIFA licence plus national registration is sufficient. No additional national exam is currently required in these markets.

Agents who work across multiple markets, as most serious operators do, tend to hold the FIFA licence as the foundation, plus the national licence of the market where they are most active. At Clarity Sports Management, we operate across European and African markets, which requires navigating multiple regulatory frameworks simultaneously. Understanding the compliance landscape of each jurisdiction is not optional, it is operational infrastructure.

If you are building a career in football representation and want to understand how this works in practice, we are open to a conversation.

Frequently asked questions