Their existence is no mystery to anyone, yet fake player agents continue to swarm and pollute modern football. “It’s an open wound for the entire African continent, is alarmed Stéphane Saint-Raymond, director of communication for the Africa division of the International Federation of Professional Football Associations (Fifpro). The question has preoccupied [us] for many years. »
In collaboration with the Didier Drogba Foundation and the International Labor Organization (ILO), Fifpro is launching a “prevention and awareness campaign for African youth” on Wednesday July 5. The result of work started in 2021, this project “will make it possible to free up speech to more specifically carry out investigations”, hopes Stéphane Burchkalter, secretary general of Fifpro Africa.
“All [the players] would like to become the future Sadio Mané, Victor Osimhen”, assures Didier Drogba, taking as an example the stars of Senegal and Nigeria. The former Olympique de Marseille and Chelsea striker, and star of the Ivorian selection, lends his image to the campaign which, in a series of examples, raises awareness about fraudulent agents. The latter taking advantage of poverty to canvass young men – and women – promising them a bright future.
“The dream turns into a nightmare”
The former Cameroonian international, now president of Fifpro Africa, Geremi Njitap, was himself the victim of an “ill-intentioned person” at the start of his career. On the advice of a bogus agent, he leaves his country to join Cerro Porteño, a club in Asuncion, the Paraguayan capital. “The competition is so tough that it is necessary to believe these agents, who act as intermediaries with the clubs”, continues the ex-Indomitable Lion.
His case is not isolated. According to figures published by Fifpro, 70% of professional players worldwide have been contacted by fake agents. “The dream is to have a good career,” summarizes Geremi Njitap. A route that almost automatically passes through Europe and its championships. “We want another life to help our parents and family,” he adds. But, like many young Africans, the reality is harsh: “Once I arrived, I found myself alone. »
Many scam stories have been recorded in Africa and Asia in recent years. “The question remained taboo for a long time, regrets the Cameroonian. In all the countries I visited, compatriots came to see me to complain about the phenomenon. To convince the family of the targeted young player – then contacted during tournaments or, increasingly, through social networks – the fake recruiter dangles promises of trials in some of the biggest European clubs. A sum of money – a few thousand euros – is advanced to the intermediary to finance plane tickets and accommodation.
“They left everything by exhausting the savings of their loved ones to engage in a European championship: the dream then turns into a nightmare”, regrets Didier Drogba. Fifpro regrets that the penalties are not commensurate with the damage suffered by the thousands of players broken by this system. The former pro player converted into an intermediary without having the license, Marc Tendero, for example, was sentenced in 2010 to six months in prison suspended for having illegally exercised the profession of agent.
Reintroduce a professional license
Together with the ILO, the Confederation of African Football and the government authorities of the countries concerned, the objective of the players’ global union is to regulate the profession of sports agent. With the exception of France, where the sector is much more regulated than elsewhere, the legislative vagueness surrounding the profession is the main cause of these abuses. The prevention campaign aims to give young people the tools to “discern the criminal from the agent”. Because the sums at stake – 5 billion dollars spent during the summer transfer window 2022 – “make young people, families and poorly caring agents dream”, repeats Didier Drogba, exasperated.
For its part, the International Football Federation adopted new regulations in December 2022, on the sidelines of the World Cup in Qatar, which will take effect in October. The body reintroduces a professional license, which it had abolished in 2015, and the cap on commissions indexed to the amount of player transfers (at 10%) or on their salary (3 to 6% against 10% currently).
Although Geremi Njitap’s career did not suffer from his first experience in Paraguay – the Cameroonian subsequently played for Real Madrid, Chelsea or Newcastle – many young players remain on the sidelines. In search of a better life, some set their sights on these traffickers of hopes. “It’s a bit the same principle as for smugglers in the Mediterranean,” says Didier Drogba. For whom hunger, war, political instability and “lack of infrastructure” are all reasons for this long journey.
Until “young [African] footballers no longer dream of going to Europe”, as Geremi Njitap hopes, a sign of the continent’s development, Fifpro intends to put an end to the lucrative business of fake agents. And Stéphane Burchkalter concludes: “Young people must understand that a big club, with the means at its disposal, can come and get a player directly. »