Venglos paved the way. He helped six footballers of the year

(...) In the early 1990s, becoming a licensed agent was no easy task. FIFA only granted licenses to those who could pay a deposit of 200,000 Swiss francs and pass a demanding exam.  (...)

Since 2015, national football associations — not FIFA — have regulated agents, now referred to as intermediaries. Previously, FIFA handled both registration and licensing. “Today, anyone with a clean record who pays a €100 fee and passes an interview can become an intermediary,” confirmed Peter Surin, head of media at the Slovak Football Association (SFZ). Seven years ago, FIFA delegated all responsibilities related to selection, preparation, and tracking of agents to national federations. At the time, Slovakia had 27 FIFA-licensed agents.

“There was a sharp rise in administrative workload, due to the growing number of agents. Still, only about 30 percent of transfers involved licensed agents. The rest were handled by unlicensed agents, family members, lawyers… FIFA gave associations free rein to build their own systems,” explains sports lawyer and top intermediary Jozef Tokos. Each federation created its own rules, deciding whether to keep exams, fees, and other requirements. “Slovakia has one of the most liberal systems in the world. There are no financial or other major barriers. Anyone who wants to try can do so. It supports free enterprise,” Tokos adds.

This open model raised questions about agent competence and readiness — especially in lower leagues. Are players always able to choose the right agent to represent them? “FIFA has realized that, particularly in top leagues, intermediary incomes surged significantly — in the pre-pandemic period sometimes even fourfold. This doesn’t apply to Slovakia or similar countries, but to the footballing giants. Top global agents now earn massive fees for player transfers. These are some of the reasons FIFA wants to re-engage in regulating the profession. They’re considering reintroducing entrance exams and limiting access again,” adds Tokos, who in 2001 became one of the three FIFA-licensed agents in Slovakia (alongside Milan Lednický and Vladimír Varga) after Venglos.

Currently, if the involved parties don’t agree on agent fees, there are general guidelines — rarely followed — suggesting a 3 percent commission based on the player's gross salary or transfer fee. “These limits may become mandatory in the future. From transfer fees, it could go up to 10 percent. But under Slovak conditions, a 3 percent cut would be ruinous for agents. Consider a typical league player earning €1,500 to €2,000 per month. Major agencies were unhappy from the start and intend to challenge these restrictions in court, arguing that they violate the EU’s free market rules. I agree — such caps are hard to defend. The only viable solution might be to limit access to the profession instead, which could be justified on public interest grounds,” Tokos argues.

According to SFZ records, out of 150 registered intermediaries, only 37 were active in the past year — slightly fewer than in 2020. The rest either reported no transactions or had voluntarily suspended their work. The total income earned by intermediaries in 2021 amounted to €325,650, while total payments made by clubs reached €2,064,530.

These figures are only a fraction of what the top global intermediaries make — those who’ve become permanent fixtures of the football business. In Slovakia, being an agent is far from lucrative. Tokos points out that it’s similar to club ownership — both depend on the volume of money circulating in Slovak football. (...)