FA Council Revamps Agent Rules

The FA Council has revamped the regulations governing football agents ahead of
the release of the Burns report into transfer bungs due early next month.

The most significant change that the Council voted in was to outlaw agents
from dual representation, in other words agents can no longer act for a player
and a club involved in the same transfer.

Other elements of the revamp include the prohibition of agents owning
interests in players – a scenario that is common practice in regions such as
South America; the prevention of sub-contracting agency activities to unlicensed
agents; and the prevention of agents from acting for a club in a transaction if
they have acted for the player in any capacity in the preceding three years.

The new legislation will come into force in the summer transfer window of
2007.

The Council also approved new doping regulations which bring English football
into line with the WADA Code and which will come into force in January 2007.
Under the new regulations, minimum two-year suspensions will be imposed for
testing positive for prohibited substances on the WADA list, with two years to
permanent suspension for a repeat offence.