11 miss Fifa agents exams
Eleven Malawians who were expected to take the reintroduced Fifa football players’ agents examinations on Wednesday did not show up at Mpira Village in Chiwembe, Blantyre to take the test.
A total of 6 586 candidates from 138 member associations representing all confederations applied, according to a statement from Fifa chief legal and compliance officer Emilio Garcia Silvero.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) club licencing and compliance manager Casper Jangale yesterday said the 11 candidates, who were registered by the association, skipped the examinations.
He said: “Nobody turned up for the examinations. Some gave excuses that they were travelling while others just decided not to take the test.”
Jangale said he suspected that some candidates were not ready to take the examinations.
He, however, said the candidates have a chance to take it in September.
Jangale said: “What this means is that only those that still have valid licences can operate as Fifa player agents.
“Those that had their licences expired will not be able to operate until they sit and pass the next examinations in September.”
According to a Fifa press statement, individuals seeking to be players’ agents have also to pay $600 (about K600 000) agent fee.
The world football governing body has re-introduced the players agents’ examinations which were scrapped in 2015, following an increase in players transfer disputes.
Before 2015 player agents were undergoing a strenuous exercise which included taking an examination and paying K5 million sureties.
However, Fifa opted to scrap the examinations and surety and introduced integrity check as the only requirement to getting a licence.
Silvero’s statement reads: “The significant number of applications we have received confirms that many individuals across the world are looking forward to working within the new regulatory framework, which will ensure basic service standards for football agents and their clients through well-defined rules and increased certainty.”
Before the introduction of the examinations Malawi licensed player agents were James Woods, Felix Ngamanya Sapao, Mwayi Msungama, Jimmy Zakazaka, Yasin Maoni, Bolakunthanzi Sports Management Agency and Lunjika Moyo.
On his part, Zakazaka said he did not take the exam because he is now a qualified coach and owns a team that participates in a sanctioned league which is against the new Fifa player agents regulations.
