Introduction
To pass the FIFA Football Agent Exam, candidates must learn all of the rules, regulations, policies and guidelines contained in the FIFA Study Materials. However, the fundamental aspect of learning these regulations is first understanding the terminology that FIFA uses throughout the document. In all of the relevant clauses, it is hard to comprehend what they are telling you unless you know the definition of each term and abbreviation.
In the beginning of each FIFA Document the definitions of key terms are outlined. This blog provides a complete A-Z list of every definition you need to know when tackling the FIFA Football Agent Exam and where to find them within the FIFA Study Materials. In each definition we have also underlined the main ideas to help your learning.
A-Z of FIFA Terminology
Key:
FFAR = FIFA Football Agent Regulations
FCHR = FIFA Clearing House Regulations
RSTP = FIFA’s Regulations on the Status & Transfer of Players
Statutes = FIFA Statutes
FIFA COE = FIFA Code of Ethics
| TERM | DOC | DEFINITION |
| Academy | FFAR & RSTP | An organisation or an independent legal entity whose primary, long-term objective is to provide players with long-term training through the provision of the necessary training facilities and infrastructure. This shall primarily include, but not be limited to, football training centres, football camps, football schools, etc. |
| Agency | FFAR | An organisation, entity, firm or private company retaining, comprising, employing or otherwise acting as a vehicle for the business affairs of one or more Football Agents. |
| Allocation Statement | FCHR | The document issued by the FIFA general secretariat tothe FIFA Clearing House that provides it with the necessary information to process payments, notably the paying and receiving parties and the amounts to be distributed. |
| Approach | FFAR | (i) Any physical, in-person contact or contact via any means of electronic communication with a Client; (ii) any direct or indirect contact with another person or organisation linked to a Client, such as a family member or friend; or (iii) any action when a Football Agent uses or directs another person or organisation to contact a Client on their behalf in the manner described in (i) or (ii) above. |
| Association | Statutes | A football association recognised as such by FIFA. It is a member of FIFA, unless a different meaning is evident from the context. |
| Association Football | Statutes | The game controlled by FIFA and organised by FIFA, the confederations and/or the member associations in accordance with the Laws of the Game |
| Bridge Transfer | RSTP | Any two consecutive transfers, national or international, ofthe same player connected to each other and comprising a registration of that player with the middle club to circumvent the application of the relevant regulations or laws and/or defraud another person or entity. |
| British Associations | Statutes | The four associations in the United Kingdom – The Football Association, The Scottish Football Association, The Football Association of Wales and The Irish Football Association (Northern Ireland). |
| Bureau of the Council | Statutes | The bureau of the Council as defined in art. 38 of these Statutes. |
| Client | FFAR | A member association, club, player, coach, or Single-Entity League that may engage a Football Agent to provide Football Agent Services |
| Club | Statutes | A member of an association (that is a member association of FIFA) or a member of a league recognised by a member association that enters at least one team in a competition |
| Club-trained Player | RSTP | A player who, between the age of 15 (or the start of the season during which he turns 15) and 21 (or the end of the season during which he turns 21), and irrespective of his nationality and age, registered with his current club for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or of 36 months. |
| Coach | RSTP | An individual employed in a football-specific occupation by a professional club or association whose:i. employment duties consist of one or more of the following: training and coaching players, selecting players for matches and competitions, making tactical choices during matches and competitions; and/orii. employment requires the holding of a coaching licence in accordance with a domestic or continental licensing regulation. |
| Competition Period | RSTP | The period starting with the first official match of the national league championship or national cup competition, whichever comes first, and ending with the last official match played within those competitions. |
| Compliance Assessment | FCHR | The procedure required to be performed by the FIFA Clearing House prior to accepting any potential client in order to satisfy financial regulatory requirements |
| Confederation | Statutes | A group of associations recognised by FIFA that belong to the same continent (or assimilable geographic region). |
| Congress | Statutes | The supreme and legislative body of FIFA. |
| Connected Football Agent | FFAR | A Football Agent is connected to another Football Agentas a result of their: (i) being employed or contractually retained by the same Agency through which Football Agent Services are conducted; (ii) both being directors, shareholders in, or co-owners of the same Agency through which Football Agent Services are conducted; (iii) being married to one another, domestic partners, siblings of one another, or parent and child or stepchild; or (iv) them having made any contractual or other arrangements, whether formal or informal, to cooperate, on more than one occasion, in the provision of any services or to share the revenue or profits of any part of their Football Agent Services. |
| Council | Statutes | The strategic and oversight body of FIFA. |
| Country | Statutes | An independent state recognised by the internationalcommunity |
| Dispute Resolution Chamber | FCHR | The Dispute Resolution Chamber of the Football Tribunal as defined in the Procedural Rules. |
| Distribution Statement | FCHR | The document generated by the FIFA Clearing House thatcontains information about payments of training rewards to which the training club(s) in question is (are) entitled. |
| Electronic Domestic Transfer System | RSTP | An online electronic information system with the ability to administer and monitor all national transfers within an association, in line with the principles of the model implemented at international level through the transfer matching system (cf. Annexe 3). At a minimum, the system must collect the full name, gender, nationality, date of birth and FIFA ID of the player, the status (amateur or professional as per article 2 paragraph 2 of these regulations), the name and FIFA ID of the two clubs involved in the national transfer, as well as any payments between the clubs, if applicable. The electronic domestic transfer system must be integrated with the electronic registration system of the association and with the FIFA Connect Interface in order to exchange information electronically. |
| Electronic Player Passport | RSTP | An electronic document containing consolidated registration information of a player throughout their career, including the relevant member association, their status (amateur or professional), the type of registration (permanent or loan), and the club(s) (including training category) with which they have been registered since the calendar year of their 12th birthday. |
| Electronic Player Registration System | RSTP | An online electronic information system with the ability to record the registration of all players at their association. The electronic player registration system must be integrated with the FIFA Connect ID Service and the FIFA Connect Interface in order to exchange information electronically. The electronic player registration system must provide all registration information for all players from the age of 12 through the FIFA Connect Interface and, in particular, must assign each player a FIFA ID utilising the FIFA Connect ID Service. |
| Eleven-a-side football | RSTP | Football played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as authorised by the International Football Association Board. |
| Engaging Entity | FFAR | A club, member association or Single-Entity League that mayengage a player or coach. |
| Ethics Committee | FIFA COE | References to the Ethics Committee in this Code shallinclude the investigatory and/or adjudicatory chamber. |
| FCH Terms and Conditions | FCHR | The terms and conditions for a party to take part in a transaction involving the FIFA Clearing House. |
| FIFA | Statutes | “Fédération Internationale de Football Association” |
| FIFA Clearing house | RSTP | The entity that acts as an intermediary in relation toprocessing certain payments made in the football transfer system. |
| FIFA Connect ID Service | RSTP | A service provided by FIFA assigning globally valid unique identifiers (the FIFA ID) to individuals, organisations, and facilities, providing duplicate information in case of a second registration of the same entity, and keeping a central record of the current registration(s) of all entities with an assigned FIFA ID. |
| FIFA Connect Interface | RSTP | A technical interface provided by FIFA within the FIFAConnect Programme, used to exchange electronic end-to-end encrypted messages between member associations, and between member associations and FIFA. |
| FIFA Events | Any event, including but not limited to FIFA Congress, Council or committee meetings, FIFA competitions, as well as any other event that is within FIFA’s authority or organised by FIFA. | |
| FIFA ID | RSTP | The worldwide unique identifier given by the FIFA Connect ID Service to each club, association, player and football agent. |
| First Compliance Assessment | FCHR | The first step in the FIFA Clearing House’s process ofperforming a Compliance Assessment for a specific transaction. |
| Football Agent | FFAR | A natural person licensed by FIFA to perform Football AgentServices. |
| Football Agent Services | FFAR | Football-related services performed for or on behalf of a Client, including any negotiation, communication relating or preparatory to the same, or other related activity, with the purpose, objective and/or intention of concluding a Transaction. |
| Former Association | RSTP | The association to which the former club is affiliated. |
| Former Club | RSTP | The club that the player is leaving |
| Futsal | RSTP | Football played in accordance with the Futsal Laws of the Game that have been drawn up by FIFA in collaboration with the Sub-Committee of the International Football Association Board. |
| IFAB | Statutes | International Football Association Board |
| Individual | FFAR | Player or coach |
| Interest | FFAR | (i) Any beneficial ownership of a legal person through which the relevant activities of those entities are conducted, except an ordinary and freely accessible non-transferrable personal membership entitling its owner to a single vote in club affairs; and/or (ii) being in a position that may enable the exercise of a material, financial, commercial, administrative, managerial or any other influence over the affairs of a natural or legal person whether directly or indirectly and whether formally or informally. |
| International Transfer | RSTP | The movement of the registration of a player from one association to another association. |
| Laws of the Game | Statutes | The laws of association football issued by The IFAB in accordance with art. 7 of these Statutes. |
| League | Statutes | An organisation that is subordinate to an association. |
| Match Agent | FIFA COE | Contained in FIFA Match Agent Regulations |
| Matching Exception | RSTP | The status of an international transfer in TMS when both clubs have entered the basic information correctly (player, clubs and transfer instruction), but there are still transfer details (payment details or loan dates) that do not match in both transfer instructions. This mismatch prevents the transfer from proceeding. |
| Maternity Leave | RSTP | A minimum period of 14 weeks’ paid absence granted to afemale player due to her pregnancy, of which a minimum of eight weeks must occur after the birth of the child. |
| Member Association | Statutes | An association that has been admitted into membership of FIFA by the Congress |
| Minor | RSTP | A player who has not yet reached the age of 18. |
| National Transfer | RSTP | The movement of the registration of a player at an associationfrom one club to another within the same association. |
| New Association | RSTP | The association to which the new club is affiliated. |
| New Club | RSTP | The club that the player is joining. |
| Non-Compliant Party | FCHR | A client of the FIFA Clearing House that fails a First Compliance Assessment and/or a Second Compliance Assessment. |
| Official | Statutes & FIFA COE | Any board member (including the members of the Council),committee member, referee and assistant referee, coach, trainer and any other person responsible for technical, medical and administrative matters in FIFA, a confederation, a member association, a league or a club as well as all other persons obliged to comply with the FIFA Statutes (except players, football agents and match agents). |
| Official Competition | Statutes | A competition for representative teams organised by FIFA or any confederation |
| Official Matches | RSTP | Matches played within the framework of organised football, such as national league championships, national cups and international championships for clubs, but not including friendly and trial matches. |
| Organised Football | RSTP | Association football organised under the auspices of FIFA, the confederations and the associations, or authorised by them. |
| Other Services | FFAR | Any services performed by a Football Agent for or on behalf of a Client other than Football Agent Services, including but not limited to, providing legal advice, financial planning, scouting, consultancy, management of image rights and negotiating commercial contracts. |
| Payment Notification | FCHR | The document issued by the FIFA Clearing House detailing the amount(s) payable to the FIFA Clearing House. |
| Platform | FFAR | The digital platform operated by FIFA through which the licensing process, dispute resolution process, continuing professional development (CPD) and reporting shall occur |
| Player | Statutes | Any football player licensed by an association. |
| Procedural Rules | FCHR | The Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal |
| Professional Club | RSTP | A club that is not a purely amateur club. |
| Protected Period | RSTP | A period of three entire seasons or three years, whichever comes first, following the entry into force of a contract, where such contract is concluded prior to the 28th birthday of the professional, or two entire seasons or two years, whichever comes first, following the entry into force of a contract, where such contract is concluded after the 28th birthday of the professional. |
| Purely Amateur Club | RSTP | A club with no legal, financial or de facto links to a professional club that:i. is only permitted to register amateur players; orii. has no registered professional players; oriii. has not registered any professional players in the three years prior to a particular date. |
| Registration | RSTP | The act of making a written record containing details of a player that include:a) the start date of the registration (format: dd/mm/yyyy);b) the full name (first, middle and last names) of the player;c) the date of birth, gender, nationality, status as an amateur or a professional (asper article 2 paragraph 2 of these regulations), and nature of the registration(on a permanent basis or on loan);d) the type(s) of football the player will play (eleven-a-side football/futsal/beachsoccer);e) the name of the club at the association where the player will play (includingthe FIFA ID of the club);f) the training categorisation of the club at the moment of the registration;g) the FIFA ID of the player;h) the FIFA ID of the association. |
| Registration Period | RSTP | A period fixed by the relevant association in accordance with article 6. |
| Related Party | FIFA COE | Any party related to persons bound by the Code shall be considered a related party if they fulfil one or more of the following criteria:a) representative or employee;b) spouse or domestic partner;c) individual sharing the same household, regardless of the personalrelationship;d) other family member with whom they have a close relationship withina third degree;e) legal entity, partnership or any other fiduciary institution, if the personbound by this Code or the person receiving an undue advantagealternatively:i) holds a management position within that entity, partnership orfiduciary institution;ii) directly or indirectly controls the entity, partnership or fiduciaryinstitution;iii) is a beneficiary of the entity, partnership or fiduciary institution;iv) performs services on behalf of such entity, partnership or fiduciaryinstitution, regardless of the existence of a formal contract. |
| Releasing Entity | FFAR | A club, member association or Single-Entity League that a player or coach is leaving to be employed and/or registered by an Engaging Entity |
| Remuneration | FFAR | Gross financial compensation for employment set out in anegotiated employment contract, which includes base salary, any sign-on fee, and any amount payable if certain conditions are fulfilled (for example, a loyalty or performance bonus). For the avoidance of doubt, any future transfer compensation agreed to and any non-salary benefits, such as the provision of a vehicle, accommodation or telephony services, are not considered in the calculation of the gross financial compensation. |
| Representation Agreement | FFAR | A written agreement for the purpose of establishinga legal relationship to provide Football Agent Services |
| RSTP | FFAR | The FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. |
| RWWI | FFAR | FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries. |
| Season | RSTP | A consecutive 12-month period fixed by an association during which its official competitions, such as national league championships and national cup competitions, occur. |
| Second Compliance Assessment | FCHR | The second step in the FIFA Clearing House’s process of performing a Compliance Assessment for a specific transaction where a client has failed the First Compliance Assessment. |
| Single-Entity League | FFAR | An entity affiliated to a member association that organises a league (or leagues) and represents the common interests of its clubs, for example, by acting as the employer of all club players. |
| Specified Transaction | FFAR | A Transaction where all of the parties involved are definedand identified. |
| Stakeholder | Statutes | A person, entity or organisation which is not a member association and/or body of FIFA but has an interest or concern in FIFA’s activities, which may affect or be affected by FIFA’s actions, objectives and policies, in particular clubs, players, coaches and professional leagues. |
| Third Party | RSTP | A party other than the player being transferred, the two clubstransferring the player from one to the other, or any previous club, with which the player has been registered. |
| TMS Manager | RSTP | The main TMS user and point of contact for a club or association with access to TMS. |
| TMS User | RSTP | An individual trained and authorised to access TMS on behalf of a club or association. All TMS users have their own unique login credentials. |
| Training Compensation | RSTP | A compensation which a new club of a player pays, or commits to pay to a player’s former club, in exchange for the former club’s acceptance to release the player from a binding contractual relationship. Compensation for breach of contract pursuant to article 17 herein is not considered transfer compensation |
| Training Rewards | RSTP | The mechanisms which compensate training clubs for their role in the training and education of young players, namely training compensation (cf. article 20) and the solidarity mechanism (cf. article 21). |
| Transaction | FFAR | (i) the employment, registration or deregistration of a player with a club or a Single-Entity League; (ii) the employment of a coach with a club, SingleEntity League or a member association; (iii) the transfer of the registration of a playerfrom one club to another; (iv) the creation, termination or variation of an Individual’s terms of employment. |
| Transfer Instruction | RSTP | The information entered in TMS to transfer a player from one club to another. The transfer instruction type is defined by the information entered: (i) “engage” or “release”; (ii) “permanently” or “on loan”; (iii) “professional player” or “amateur player”; (iv) with transfer agreement” or “without transfer agreement”; (v) “against payment” or “free of payment” |
| Transfer Matching System | RSTP | A web-based data information system with the primary objective of simplifying the process of international player transfers as well as improving transparency and the flow of information. |
| Trial | RSTP | A temporary period during which a player that is not registered with a club is evaluated by that club. |
| Validation Exception | RSTP | An issue relating to an international transfer in TMS that prevents it from proceeding to the next status, thus requiring FIFA’s intervention. |