Italy
The National Football Agent Regulations in Italy
The national FFAR relevant document in Italy can be found here in Italian. Unofficial translation into English can be found here: Media: ITALIAN NATIONAL LAW REGARDING SPORTS AGENTS.pdf.
In short, the situation of football agents in Italy:
- The football agent, which is a category of sports agent, is a profession regulated by national law (see Legislative Decree no. 37/2021 in English below and in Italian here https://lnkd.in/d8Dfzw6X).
- Access to the profession is subject to an examination for sports agents and registration in the National Register of Sports Agents (‘the Register’) at the Italian National Olympic Committee (‘CONI’).
- The examination is divided into two phases: firstly, an exam supervised by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) (general part with a written exam and, if passed, an oral part) and then an exam supervised by the national professional sports federation under which the sports agent wishes to work, which in the case of football is the FIGC - Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. For example, CONI's first exam for 2024 will be held in Rome on 9 April 2024, with the deadline for applications being 27 March 2024.
- The licence is permanent, personal and non-transferable. However, football agents’ companies are allowed, but also subject to registration in the Register.
- The annual fee for the licence is EUR 250.
- Players and clubs are prohibited from using persons for agent services who are not registered in the Register.
- A representation contract signed with a person not registered in the Register is invalid.
Regarding the FFAR and Italy:
- Considering the above Italian model, the FIFA licence for football agents is essentially not valid in Italy and is nice to have, but the CONI-FIGC licence is a must in order to operate in Italy.
- The FIFA Football Agents Regulations (FFAR) have not been challenged in any Italian court or arbitration.
- The competent bodies responsible for the regulation of football agents in Italy (e.g. Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Labour, CONI) have not changed anything in their national framework because of the FFAR.
Long story short, it seems that FFAR never arrived in Italy.
Licenced Football Agents in Italy
The register of sports/football agents is maintained by the CONI here (it a serchable directory by name and surname) and the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) here (it is a full list of all active football agents in PDF format).
National Association of Football Agents in Italy
This is the home of the IAFA - The Italian Association of Football Agents. Its mission is to protect the image and rights of sports agents as a professional category in relations with the institutions of the state system and the sports system, as well as full legal recognition of the professional figure of the sports agent.
Developments in Italy
12 January 2020 | Italy’s New Licensing System For Agents - Very informative article by Miguel Rodrigues
