The new RFEF (Spanish Football Federation) Regulations on working with Intermediaries (“RFEF Regulations”) was published yesterday (31 March 2015), a day before that the new system which will regulate the relations between the former agents and his clients, players or clubs, comes into force, that is to say, today (1 April 2015). Being this article an objective presentation of the basic ideas that the new RFEF Regulations offer us.

First, these Regulations shall be understood in harmony with the FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries (“FIFA Regulations”). In addition, these provisions will be subject to the Spanish law.

What activity is the RFEF Regulations regulating? As well as the FIFA Regulations, the RFEF defines the Intermediary’s services as: “negotiating an employment contract between the club and the player; or concluding a transfer agreement between two clubs” (art. 1.1).

It is important to bear in mind that, as the FIFA Regulations state, this activity could be provided by the Intermediary free of charge (see Intermediary’s definition). Later, it will be analysed the payment to the Intermediary.

One of the main requirements of this new scheme is the need to be registered with the RFEF when the Intermediary would like to conclude an operation/transaction. Otherwise such operation will not be inscribed with the RFEF and will lack of effectiveness.

Another important feature is the new paper of the natural persons, which will be able to act as Intermediaries, but every legal representative acting on behalf of a company must be also registered as Intermediary. It will be necessary the power of attorney duly notarised and legalised confirming the Applicant as legal representative of the company.

Unlike the FA Regulations (for instance), it will not be possible to delegate, assign, subcontract or alienate any activity regulated in the Representation Contract.

On the other hand, the Application process to register as Intermediary will not be based on the payment of a fee and you become immediately RFEF Intermediary. But the Applicant shall fulfil some compulsory requirements in order to conclude the registration. Among other things, a personal interview will be carried out with the Applicant who wishes being an Intermediary with the RFEF (it could be made by telematics means). The initial registration fee is 861 Euros (it will be reviewed the following years in accordance with the annual CPI or the RFEF’s Delegate Commission of the Executive Committee will establish it). Jointly, it shall be submitted a Deontological Code that appears at the Annexe 3 of the RFEF Regulations.

Once these requests, stressed at the paragraph above, are met, the RFEF will provide an identification number and you may be officially “Intermediario registrado por la RFEF” (“Intermediary registered with the RFEF”), and it will be personal and non-transferable.

As far as the Representation Contract is concerned, it must contain, at least, the following terms:

1. The nature of the legal relationship which shall be binding on the parties.

2. The main points and clauses that governs this legal relationship (PRIOR TO start the activity as Intermediary).

3. The RFEF Regulations (copying FIFA) state that at very least the Contract shall regulate: the names of the parties, the scope of services, the duration of the legal relationship, the remuneration due to the intermediary, the general terms of payment, the date of conclusion, the termination provisions and the signatures of the parties.

4. The maximum duration of the Representation Contract (with a player or a club), is 2 years.

With regard to the payment to the Intermediary, the RFEF Regulations state that the Intermediary acting on behalf of a player shall calculate his remuneration taking as reference “the basis of the player’s basic gross income for the entire duration of the contract” (same as the FIFA terms). The RFEF Regulations do not say anything about what the Intermediary shall take as reference to be paid by the club, but it is understood that it shall be the fee paid in connection with the transfer between the two clubs (as it is stated at the FIFA Regulations).

Clubs and Players that engage the services of an intermediary shall remunerate him by payment of a lump sum, fixed or variable agreed prior to the conclusion of the relevant transaction. If agreed, such a payment may be made in instalments. No payment due to an Intermediary shall be made to third parties. Being prohibited the assignment of receivables.

Every payment to the Intermediary must be made by his client (player or club). The sole exception to this mandatory requirement is that the player expressly authorises his club to pay the Intermediary on his behalf, “according to the terms agreed by the player and the Intermediary”.

The payments to Intermediaries, if he is working with a Minor on the scope of the Regulations, are banned.

It also draws attention the lack of foresight in this article 10 of the amount that the Intermediary should receive related to his services. Above all, because it is one of the main issues on the table: the 3% “recommendation”. RFEF Regulations do not state anything about this topic. As we may know the AFA has submitted a complaint with the EU Commission pleading a breach of the 101.1 and 102 TFEU (price-fixing and abuse of dominant position respectively).

Finally, after the FIFA decided to exclude its jurisdiction regarding these disputes between Intermediaries and his clients and transferred such jurisdiction to the associations. Within the context of the RFEF, the body responsible to “conduct and judge the economic disputes” will be the ‘Jurisdictional Committee’, without prejudice that the parties may issue their claims before the Courts. In this regard the ‘Jurisdictional Committee’ shall inhibit itself and state that it has no jurisdiction anymore over this cause. Furthermore, it should be noted that the ‘Jurisdictional Committee’, will not conduct “any lawsuit related to a representation contract concluded by a minor at the moment of the signing”, so it is understood that the Courts will have jurisdiction over this matter.   

Luis Torres (Cassell Moore) / @Luis_Torres_M