FOUR out of the 12 Fifa-approved soccer agents operating in Ireland are Nigerians, according to soccer’s world governing body.The list of Ireland’s soccer agents, released last week by Fifa, is predominantly composed of Irish nationals, the most well known being former Manchester United and Ireland player Kevin Moran, and Fintan Drury of Platinum One.
However, Kenny K Amaihian, Segun Steve Fakeye, Olukorede Odukoya and Adebayo Olateju, all hailing from Nigeria and now living in Ireland, also feature on the 12-man Fifa-accredited list.
According to Fifa, a players’ agent is a person who, for a fee, introduces players to clubs “with a view to negotiating or renegotiating an employment contract or introduces two clubs to one another with a view to concluding a transfer agreement”.
Players’ agent licences are issued by the association of the country of which the applicant is a national – in Ireland’s case, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
If the applicant has been continuously resident in another country for two years or more, only this association, and not that of the applicant’s country of origin, is responsible for issuing the licence.
One of Ireland’s Nigerian soccer agents, Co Meath-based Adebayo Olateju of Planet Soccer International, told Metro Éireann he has lived in Ireland for nine years and described soccer as his “passion”.
He commented: “Look in the back of my car, you will see football nets, bibs, balls; all my life football has been important.”
Having been a player at university in Nigeria, as well as playing in Ireland, Olateju said he saw the role of a soccer agent as a means of continuing to have a prominent involvement in the game.
Before being accorded his licence over a year ago, he was required to pass a Fifa exam, and notes that life as a soccer agent isn’t for the faint-hearted. He manages “thousands” of players, he says, but none yet have professional contracts and he is not receiving income as a soccer agent. He has a job away from his role as a soccer agent, he explained.
Olateju said that all agents are required to take out professional liability insurance, which is a significant cost for start-up soccer agents.
Fifa regulations state that licences can only be issued to individuals with “an impeccable reputation”, which means that the person must not have been subject to any criminal sentence, or financial crime.
The Fifa exam, which must be passed in order to acquire a licence as a soccer agent, involves multiple-choice questions on current soccer regulations, particularly in the area of transfers. Applicants are also tested on civil law and law of contract.
