Fifa boss wants to reform transfer system

Friday, 4 November, 2016 12comments  |  Jump to most recent
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has raised concerns about the lack of transparency in modern-day transfers, particularly with regard to English Premier League clubs refusing to disclose the fees involved in selling players.

The head of football's international governing body expressed reservations about clubs hoarding young players – Chelsea are arguably the worst offenders in England in this regard – and that he proposes squad limits to restrict this practice.

"It is a transfer system which has been essentially developed back in 2000-2001," Infantino said.

"After 15 years it is time to seriously revise it and bring in maybe a little bit more transparency and a little bit more clarity in terms of the rules."

"The perception is that there is something strange happening with these transfers," Infantino said.

"Several billion US dollars are moved in a window, so it's important that it happens in a clean way."

 

Reader Comments (12)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Liam Reilly
1 Posted 04/11/2016 at 09:37:12
Anything that prevents clubs stockpiling players can only be a good thing.

It will be hard to implement though once the likes of Abramovich's lawyers get involved.

Dennis Stevens
2 Posted 04/11/2016 at 10:05:11
What about some transparency regarding agents fees – and some rules around conflict of interest and who pays for their "services"? In particular, if an agent is working for the player, then he should be responsible for any fees charged.
Alan J Thompson
3 Posted 04/11/2016 at 10:07:13
Why do FIFA only want to get involved in things that pertain to money?
They should sort out their own problems and make public the causes before they accuse others of financial misdemeanours.
Thomas Lennon
4 Posted 04/11/2016 at 10:09:03
Dennis,
Hear, hear!
Dave Abrahams
5 Posted 04/11/2016 at 11:02:57
Dennis Stevens, "players should pay their agents fees" – that idea should implemented as soon as possible. I cannot see anyone being against that, except of course the players, but they are more than rich enough to pay these fees.
Tony Abrahams
6 Posted 04/11/2016 at 12:00:22
Great shout, Dennis, but I think if it was easy then it would have been done by now, Dave. I don't think many players or agents, have given Jean Marc Bosman a dropsy over the years, but getting rid of these parasites would save the clubs a lot of money – enough to even reduce the price of a match ticket, haha!

The more money involved, the more greed we see, with some clubs even reducing away ticket allocations because they can no longer charge over £30.

Mostly rotten to the core is football, because the people who should matter the most continue being abused the most. Will it ever change?

Patrick Murphy
7 Posted 04/11/2016 at 12:10:16
The fact that some of its officials believed that FIFA was only a gravy train to line their own pockets has obviously done a lot of damage to its reputation. I personally would have disbanded it and started anew.

However, FIFA is supposed to set the rules and govern the clubs and from that perspective it is right and proper that they flex their muscles and try and get a grip of those clubs who don't believe in competition.

A self appointed group of 'super' clubs that have acted more like the Banks or big supermarket chains as they have tried to form a cartel that helps to restrict the trophies to them and them alone, and in their view only those clubs should be allowed to have the best talent, whether they utilise that talent or not.

Football is supposed to be a sport not a game of monopoly. That's not to say that money isn't important when trying to compete, but it shouldn't be used by some clubs to form a closed shop either.

As for the agents constantly demanding more and more and the 'strange' transfers that have happened in recent years, some we are more aware of than others, FIFA should do something to stem the flow of money going out of the game and into the bank accounts of greedy individuals or club owners.

I would advocate a central clearing house for all transfers, including agents fees, so that every penny is accounted for. Whether that is done by each national association or done globally is open to debate but something needs to be done to prevent the possiblity of money laundering, which may help to fund organised crime or even terrorism.

A restriction on the number of players in each squad can only help to spread the talent around and that in turn will help to make the games more competitive, which is what most fans want to see.

Peter Fearon
8 Posted 04/11/2016 at 18:57:51
There needs to be a cap on the total amount of a club's wage bill, a maximum number of players in a squad at any given time, and clearly stated terms of all transfers.

There should also be rules forbidding transfers until two thirds of a contract is up. Some agents start shopping players around to other clubs the moment the ink is dry.

Richard Pike
9 Posted 04/11/2016 at 19:14:17
Dennis (2): I tend to agree, but wasn't it Simon Jordan's stubborn enforcement of that principle that resulted in Tim Cahill signing for us instead of Crystal Palace?
Joseph Mullarkey
10 Posted 04/11/2016 at 19:58:49
What a bloody joke that FIFA are complaining about perfectly a legal practice and wanting to change it because they don't like it.

This from a governing body that has given the biggest tournament to a country that invades its neighbours, State sponsors drug cheating in sports, Allies itself in war with people that use chemical weapons and Sent military personnel in plain clothes to Euro 16 to carry out a show of force by beating and maiming innocent football fans.

Way to go, FIFA, you corrupt gang of shameless criminals, just keep having your little congress meetings with speeches from banned officials and amuse yourselves at football's expense.

Joseph Mullarkey
11 Posted 04/11/2016 at 20:03:09
I don't like some aspects of the transfer system but this is rich coming from them.

In my eyes, they have lost all credibility... the poppy thing really pissed me off.

Ray Said
12 Posted 04/11/2016 at 20:21:09
It is guaranteed that any reform will not be for the benefit of the fans but will be for the sole purpose of pulling more money into FIFA 's hands and Swiss accounts.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


About these ads