The agents of Liverpool stars such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cody Gakpo were present in London on Wednesday to sit crucial exams to determine whether they could keep their licence practice.
As part of FIFA’s decision to regulate the agent industry once again after it was deregulated in 2015, agents are now required to sit an hour-long examination to determine their competency, with those sitting needing to get 75 per cent or above in order to pass.
The UK examinations were held at the ExCel Centre in London on Wednesday, with agents such as Tyler Alexander-Arnold and Carl Thomas both attending to sit their exams. Globally, more than 6,500 agents registered to sit the exam on the same day from 138 member associations at various approved locations around the world.
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Alexander-Arnold looks after the interests of his brother, Trent, as well as recently looking after the interests of other Liverpool players including young players Oakley Cannonier, Josh Davidson and Reece Trueman. Alexander-Arnold works for PLG Group, which counts Liverpool duo Andrew Robertson and Nathaniel Phillips as clients.
Alexander-Arnold was in attendance at the ExCel on Wednesday, so too was Carl Thomas, who works for Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) that looks after the interests of Reds players such as Gakpo, with Thomas having also negotiated new deals for Tyler Morton and Max Woltman over the past 12 months.
Whereas before FIFA’s push to return to regulation means that every agent who wishes to represent their clients must now pass the £300 exam. Previously all that was required was a £500 sum in order to register as a FIFA agent.
The Mail report that the previous test that agents had to pass pre-2015, had a pass rate of less than 20 per cent.
The Mail also report that Jude Bellingham’s father, Mark, had been studying for the exam in preparation for representing his son.
Nineteen-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham had been a long-standing target for Liverpool but the Reds have called off their immediate plans to push for his signature this summer due to the prohibitively high price tag he carries and the need to spend their summer transfer kitty in several areas as part of a crucial rebuilding process.
The exam was said to consist of 20 multiple choice questions with candidates able to make use of FIFA regulations during the hour-long process.
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