Belgian Football Association's new national clearing house and intermediaries’ regulations
On 1 July 2020, the Belgian Football Association published a new edition of its national regulations on working with intermediaries (the Belgian Regulations).[1] The Belgian Regulations not only implement FIFA’s regulations on working with intermediaries,[2] but go (much) further than the current version of those regulations. Indeed, next to the licensing system already in force, the Belgian FA has now introduced its own ‘clearing house’, an institution designed to clear certain payments to football intermediaries, set up in light of the recent scandals and criminal investigations[3] into the dealings of football intermediaries in Belgium. While the clearing house currently only relates to intermediaries payments (not transfer fees or solidarity payments etc),[4] given FIFA’s ambition plans for introducing a more holistic international clearing house to increase transparency in football,[5] the Belgian project can be seen as a test case for FIFA’s future reform plans.
This Q&A gives an overview of some of the noteworthy aspects of the new Belgian Regulations and the operation of the clearing house.
Continue reading this article...
Register with your email and password
Already a member? Sign in
Get access to all of the expert analysis and commentary at LawInSport including articles, webinars, conference videos and podcast transcripts. Find out more here.
- Tags: Agents | Anti-Corruption | Belgian Football Association | Belgium | FIFA | FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries | Football | Intermediaries | Regulation
Related Articles
- Changing the game: Dissecting the landmark reforms endorsed by the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee
- FIFA’s clearing house: the future of solidarity mechanism & training compensation
- An overview of FIFA’s ‘Phase 2’ reforms – agents, loans and clearing house
About the Author
Alexander Vantyghem
Jens Westerwoudt
Jens Westerwoudt is a Belgian student at KU Leuven, where he is currently obtaining his Masters in Law. In 2020, he did an internship at ATFIELD, where he gained first-hand experience in various aspects of Sports law
Niels Verborgh
Niels advises a wide range of Belgian and international clients on all aspects of sports law, including employment-related disputes, disciplinary proceedings and regulatory matters.
He obtained a Master of Laws from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, studied Sports Management at the Catholic University College of Bruges-Ostend and has a certificate of advanced studies in European Sports Law and Policy from KU Leuven.
Niels won the Vlaamse Scriptieprijs (2017) competition with his Master’s thesis on FIFA’s transfer system.
Niels is also a scientific co-worker in the field of International and European Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and he has given guest lectures European Sports Law at among others Erasmus University Rotterdam (Holland), Ghent University and Vives University College.
How to Become a Sports Lawyer - AMA