Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

This article refers to the following FIFA regulations:

• Articles 9 and 17 of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) helps football agents maintain the knowledge and skills needed to work within the international football transfer system, covering regulatory developments, institutional matters, professional standards and practical aspects of agency work. Completing the annual requirements is a condition of maintaining a FIFA football agent licence.

Courses and credit requirements

FIFA communicates the requirements for each CPD calendar year through the FIFA agent platform. The programme consists of online learning paths and courses included in the annual licence fee; the available courses may change between cycles.

Course topics include player registration, releases for international duty, training rewards, the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, representing minors, anti-trafficking, third-party influence and ownership, and coaches’ employment rules. Each course carries credits reflecting its content, complexity, length and relevance. Football agents must complete enough courses to meet their annual requirement.

The annual credit requirements depend on the licensing pathway:

• FIFA football agent exam pathway: at least 20 credits per CPD calendar year during the first ten CPD years.
• Legacy or national law pathway: 40 credits per CPD calendar year during the first five CPD cycles, followed by the standard 20-credit requirement.

The standard requirement decreases by 25% every ten years, counted from the first CPD calendar year, bringing the annual minimum to 15 credits from the eleventh year.

FIFA awards credits once a football agent completes a course and achieves at least 80% in its assessment. Completed courses remain available to revisit in the current or later cycles, including after the annual requirement has been met, but repeating a previously credited course does not earn additional credits.

Mandatory course for representing minors

Before representing a minor or a club in a transaction involving a minor, or otherwise participating in such a transaction, a football agent must successfully complete the designated Representing Minors course and pass its assessment. The resulting accreditation is valid for three years and can be renewed by successfully completing the course again. Meeting the annual credit requirement does not replace this specific obligation.

In addition to the FIFA accreditation requirement, football agents should always ensure that they comply with any national legal requirements applicable to the representation of minors, as these may impose additional obligations or restrictions.

Annual deadlines and allocation of credits

The CPD calendar year runs from 1 October to 30 September, with all requirements due by 30 September, based on local time in Zurich, Switzerland, regardless of the football agent’s location.

Credits count in course-completion order until the annual requirement is met, after which additional credits are not counted. Credits earned in one CPD calendar year cannot be carried forward to satisfy the requirements of a later cycle.

Accessing the CPD platform

The dedicated e-learning interface is available from the FIFA agent platform home page or the “CPD” tab at the top right of the platform.

Getting help with a technical issue

If a course does not progress, the football agent should check the progress indicator and ensure that all required videos, illustrations, links and other interactive activities have been completed before reporting a technical issue.

Technical issues or discrepancies in recorded credits should be reported through a support ticket in the Help Centre on the FIFA agent platform before the applicable deadline. The ticket should include the course name, the affected step, any relevant completion date and error details, together with screenshots or a short video where applicable.

Football agents should regularly check the ticket’s status and replies on the platform, where all correspondence with the support team takes place.

Non-compliance and reinstatement

Failure to complete the annual requirements by the deadline results in automatic provisional suspension, during which the individual may not act as a football agent or provide football agent services. Completing the outstanding requirements within 60 days of suspension allows the licence to be reinstated; otherwise, it will be withdrawn.

For example, a football agent provisionally suspended on 1 October for missing the 30 September deadline must remedy the non-compliance by 30 November. Failure to do so results in withdrawal on 1 December, with no exceptions granted after the stipulated deadline. Once the licence has been withdrawn, the individual must complete the full licence application process again before providing football agent services.

Further professional education

FIFA also offers an Executive Programme in Football Agency for industry professionals. This optional programme addresses regulatory, commercial and institutional aspects of agency work and is not an exam-preparation course or a substitute for licensing requirements. Programme details are available on Inside FIFA; enquiries can be sent to legal-diploma@fifa.org.