The Agents Angle - The World's Premier Football (Soccer) Agent Show · The Agents Angle

#36 : Agency Ordered to Pay Player Millions - Questionable Claims by FIFA's Gianni Infantino on Agent Fees - Football Agent Regulations & Licensing in Italy - FIFA Back Down - Digital FIFA Agent IDs

·1 hr 1 min·3 clips

Infantino’s claim links agent fees to training compensation, and the hosts call it a “fallacy.”

1. The Agents Angle #36 links Gianni Infantino’s agent-fee comments, a compensation ruling against an agency, and Italy’s football agent licensing rules. 2. Jonathan Booker and Peter Paliologos host the episode, and Alessandro Mazzucato joins for the Italy segment as a sports lawyer and FIGC-licensed football agent. 3. The episode asks whether FIFA’s FFAR push, agent-fee rhetoric, and national licensing systems are changing football agency practice or just repeating old arguments. 4. Jonathan Booker says FIFA’s claim that agent fees cause problems for training compensation is a “fallacy,” and he argues that FIFA has not updated those mechanisms for years. 5. Peter Paliologos adds that training compensation can block player moves when clubs cannot afford the fee, especially in Australia and the United States where junior football often uses a user-pays model. 6. The hosts discuss agents negotiating waivers, sell-on clauses, and deferred compensation so younger players can move without losing opportunities. 7. Booker says his LinkedIn comments on FIFA’s post disappeared within an hour, and he treats that as part of FIFA’s effort to control the FFAR narrative. 8. He also says Infantino’s reference to “some agents” is misleading because multiple agencies and agent groups are involved in legal challenges. 9. The episode notes that Infantino called on governments and lawmakers to help ensure transfer money stays in football and is shared with clubs worldwide. 10. The hosts mention that Premier League clubs are reportedly discussing a spending cap, with agent payments potentially included through a squad-cost calculation similar to UEFA’s model. 11. Booker and Paliologos then move to FIFA’s legal position and say the Relevant Sports dispute in the US shows FIFA can back down when a court ruling creates pressure. 12. They connect that case to La Liga president Javier Tebas, who said Spanish top-flight matches in the United States are targeted from the 2025-26 season. 13. The episode also mentions Deputy Secretary General Alistair Bell leaving FIFA after six years and staying on as an advisor on legal strategy and governance. 14. Booker describes that departure as part of wider movement inside FIFA while the FFAR dispute and its legal costs continue. 15. Christian Bosco, president of IAFA, is referenced for warning that anti-money-laundering measures could affect football agents in the European Union by 2029. 16. The episode raises Bosco’s question about whether tighter compliance could push some agents toward jurisdictions outside the EU. 17. Mazzucato explains that Italy uses a national licensing system with CONI written and oral exams, a FIGC special exam, and annual registration renewals. 18. He says Italy does not exempt relatives, lawyers, ex-players, or family members from the new licensing exam, and that unlicensed agency work is treated as a crime under Italian law. 19. Listeners who work in football agency, legal compliance, or cross-border transfers would get the most from this episode. 20. Casual fans looking for match analysis or player gossip probably should skip it.

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