* Barry Lysaght was previously Group Leader and Legal Counsel at FIFA from June 2012 to April 2019. He is the author of a thesis on Football Academies (“Policing Academies”) from which the work on this Special Report is based.
The fundamental obstacle to greater transparency is the status of private academies outside of ‘organised football’. However, an analysis of FIFA’s previous regulatory measures concerning similarly ‘external’ parties may indicate possible solutions to the limitations of Article 19bis.
Enhanced transparency
In light of the shortcomings of Article 19bis regarding transparency, it is submitted that FIFA’s first step should be to bolster the range of information which Member Associations (MAs) are required to collect on private academies. By amending Article 19bis to require the reporting of additional details such as minor nationalities, date of arrival and player status, as well as requiring the provision of employment contracts, transfer agreements, and former club/MA details, Article 19bis could better ‘contribute’ to the aim of safeguarding minors through gathering relevant information on their international movements. Having gathered such data over a period of years (most likely through the investigative work of TMS Compliance under Article 4.4 of Annexe 2 RSTP), FIFA would be able to review the...
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