As women’s football continues to professionalise, it is becoming more and more part of the business that the players now need better advice – whether it’s contracts, transfers or advertising deals. This is where the agencies and player consultants come into play, who manage matters behind the scenes.

It was not that long ago that female footballers managed themselves or even a parent took on this task. At times, it was not uncommon for there to be some agents in women’s football who could capitalise on the lack of knowledge.

“In 2014, there weren’t even ten agencies in the top leagues. Each had its own small pool of players and there were hardly any poaching attempts. Back then, women’s football was not lucrative enough for many agencies, especially those from men’s football. Commissions at that time were between €500 and €3,000. The agencies that worked in women’s football back then did so more as a friendly favour than as a business.” – Jasmina Čović, Women’s Football Agency

The Rise of Women’s Football Agents

However, the reputation of a women’s football agent has changed for the better as professionalisation has progressed. There have been major changes and improved conditions in this area with more player agencies becoming relevant in women’s football. Some agencies are also active in the men’s game, but there are also those which only focus on the women’s game.

‘The Rise of Women’s Football’ has researched the names and statistics of the most important agencies of the top five leagues worldwide (Frauen-Bundesliga, Women’s Super League, Première Ligue, Liga F and National Women’s Soccer League) and also taken a closer look at how many of them are run by women.

Currently, there are more than 245 agents representing female players in the five leading countries. However, only a few of them are also run by women – only about three percent, to be precise.

The agency that has the most players under contract across the five leagues is A&V Sports, which is responsible for top players such as Sam Kerr (Chelsea FC), Ada Hegerberg (Olympique Lyonnais) and Khadija Shaw (Manchester City). The agency currently has 9 % of players in the top five leagues signed to them.

In second place with 6% of players in the business is Wasserman, a global agency in the fields of sports, music, and entertainment. In the women’s game, they are particularly relevant in the United States and England managing the likes of Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave) and Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC). The agency is now also active in Europe and has appointed Luca Russo, the brother of Arsenal player Alessia Russo, as VP Women’s Football Europe.

It is followed by Ness & Network, an agency with a more European focus based in Germany, with 4%. It is therefore not surprising that this agency looks after the most players in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Linda Dallmann (both FC Bayern Munich) and Kathrin Hendrich (VfL Wolfsburg) are among its clients.

11 Friends (3%, based in Germany) and RCG Sports (3%, based in Spain) complete the top five agencies.

The Top Agencies Worldwide

Two of the five leading agencies, A&V Sports and 11 Friends, focus exclusively on women’s football.

It is also interesting to note that overall there are only few agencies known to be owned and managed by women. Just to name some of the most influential ones, there are Leonie Blokhuis (Flowsports), Maria De Cecco (CMG), Carlota Planas (Unik Sports Management), Sonia Souid (HEESSO Sports), Angela Verdoes (Women’s Sport Agency), Jo Tongue (TT Management), Raquel Sampaio (Teammate Footballmanagement) and Jasmina Covic (Women’s Football Agency).

By taking a closer look at the individual top league, it is significant that the top agency A&V Sports is represented in every top 10 ranking except from the German Frauen-Bundesliga. Other agencies that are among the dominating agencies internationally in more than one league are Wasserman and Ness & Network.

Alan Naigeon, Licensed Player’s Agent A&V Sports: “When we fell in love with women’s football, we didn’t know yet that every step we would take would help not only our players, but women’s football as a whole. We didn’t know yet that we would spend more time fighting for better player care, more professional work environments, medical assistance or just to ensure that players were given the right to seek representation rather than with negotiating player’s contracts and broker transfer agreements.”

“Eight years ago, one of the current best women’s football leagues in the world, didn’t want to talk or even acknowledge agents. With constant growth, changes in regulation, and new challenges coming along the way, every day is a new experience. We constantly have to adapt to be ahead and we couldn’t do it without the competitiveness of our clients, who are the best in the world and who challenge us every day to match their ambitions of being the best at what they do.”

A problem that has developed in recent years is that more and more coaches and, unusually, sports directors are being managed by the same agencies as some of their players. This creates an obvious conflict of interest that could pose a more serious problem if this continues to develop in the future. For example, if a sports director is part of the same agency as a player he wants to sign, he will have a clear advantage over other competitors.

In men’s football, it sometimes happens that players and coaches come from the same agency, even if it is less extreme. But the fact that sports directors in women’s football are also managed by agencies is a very unusual phenomenon.

THE FIFA LICENCE

A closer look at the agencies shows that some of them do not yet hold a FIFA licence. However, since the FIFA Agent Regulations 2023, a licence is mandatory in order to represent players.

According to FIFA, the licence authorises “the licensed football agents to provide football agent services to players, coaches, clubs and associations on a worldwide basis. The mandatory licensing system include[s] further-education requirements to raise professional standards.” To become a FIFA licensed agent, one has to to submit an application via the FIFA Football Agents Platform. For this, certain eligibility requirements must be met like…

• … abiding by all the FIFA Football Agents’ regulations
• … no suspension record from the applicant’s football regulating body or any other
• … not having any interest in any academy, club, or league
• … not having any criminal record
• … not having been a shareholder or part of an entity that was declared bankrupt in the past 5years. Similarly, the individual shouldn’t have a similar record in the past five years

The next step is then to “successfully pass an exam that includes questions related to football regulations or other substantial educational requirements”. In addition, an annual fee of USD 600 must be paid for the licence and 20 CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points must be earned through training courses also each year.

Note: all numbers were retrieved on 08 December 2024