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Nearly half fail new FIFA test to get player agent license

Nearly half the candidates failed a new FIFA exam to work as a player agent in soccer, the governing body said Thursday.

Only 1,962 people — 52% of the 3,800 candidates worldwide — passed last week’s test to get a license that will be mandatory to work in transfer and contract negotiations from October.

FIFA is being challenged in multiple legal cases across Europe by agents and lawyers seeking to block the new licensing system that would cap fees and regulate an industry that earns hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

A second round of exams will be held in September. It costs $600 to take the test and the pass mark is set at 75% for answering 20 questions in one hour in English, French or Spanish.

The test is mandatory for would-be agents who were not licensed in 2015 under a previous system.

Long-time agents, including some who have earned tens of millions of dollars from the highest-profile transfer deals, can be exempted from the test if they apply for a license by September. They must also commit to ongoing training.

FIFA wants to cap agent earnings at a maximum 10% of transfer fees when they act for the selling club.

Agents would also be limited to taking 3% of a player’s salary when those earnings are more than $200,000 per year, or 5% when the player earns up to $200,000. Those limits would be 6% and 10%, respectively, when the agent acted for both the player and the club signing them.