How to find a licensed football agent for your club

Why the agent must hold a FIFA licence

Under the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, only a natural person with a FIFA licence may provide football agent services, and a club, player or coach may not engage an unlicensed person to do so. FIFA states plainly that if an unlicensed intermediary keeps working, "both the client and the agent may be sanctioned" [1]. The licensing rules have applied since 9 January 2023 and the rest of the regulations since 1 October 2023 [1][2].

A licence belongs to a person, not to an agency. An agency with ten staff can have one licensed agent and nine people who may not act as agents. Ask which person will act for your club, and check that person.

Step 1: check the licence in FIFA's directory

FIFA keeps a public directory of licensed agents on the FIFA Agent Platform ↗. Search for the person by name and compare the name and licence number with what the agent gave you. If you cannot find them, ask for the licence number and search again before going further.

A licence can lapse. An agent who misses the yearly education requirement or the licence fee is provisionally suspended, and one who does not complete the education within 60 days loses the licence [1]. Check again close to signing, not only at the first meeting.

Step 2: check the national rules where the transfer happens

Some national associations add their own step. In England, for example, an agent needs a FIFA licence and a free registration with the FA, and a club must check that registration before it engages the agent [3]. Ask your own association, or the association of the club you are dealing with, what it requires.

Step 3: put the work in writing

Agree in writing what the agent will do for your club, for which transfer or period, and how and when he is paid. Two points deserve a clear line in the agreement:

• Whom else the agent acts for in the same transfer. FIFA's ban on one agent representing several parties is suspended worldwide while courts review it [4], so national rules decide; ask in writing and keep the answer.
• The fee. FIFA's cap on agent fees is suspended too [4]. Agree the amount, who pays it and when, before the first offer.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a specific transfer, check the current rules with your association or a sports lawyer.

Step 4: know the rules that bind you both

• A player under contract: before you negotiate, inform his current club in writing (FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, art. 18.3) [5].
• A minor: an agent may approach a minor only from six months before the age at which he may sign his first professional contract, only with written consent of his legal guardian, and only after FIFA's course on minors [2]. National rules can be stricter; in England, for example, no approach before 1 September of the school year in which the player turns 16 [3].
• An exclusive agreement: be careful when an agent offers a player who is under an exclusive agreement with another agent. FIFA's rule on this is under legal challenge; the Court of Justice of the EU said in July 2026 that it appears incompatible with EU competition law [6].

Where to find the right agent

Most clubs start with people they already know. That works until you need a position, a league or a country your network does not cover.

Another way is to describe the player you need and let licensed agents come to you. On Transferlink a club posts a request with position, age, budget and deadline, and an optional fee for the agent, fixed before anyone offers. Every agent who can offer has entered his own FIFA licence number, and Transferlink checks it by hand in FIFA's directory before he can offer a player. Each agency offers one player, with a confirmed mandate, so you review a short list instead of an inbox. It is free for clubs until 1 March 2027.

Whichever route you take, steps 1 to 4 stay the same.