FIFA promises ban on third-party ownership of players globally within 3-4 yrs

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has promised that the world's football governing body would ban third-party ownership (TPO) of players globally within three or four years, in light of pressure from UEFA and players' unions to outlaw the practice.

TPO is the ownership of a player's economic rights by third party sources, such as football agents, sports management agencies or investors. It is a common practice in football, particularly in Brazil and Argentina, where many clubs are financially limited.

Businessmen or other investors buy shares in the economic rights of young players and often cover the costs of their training and accommodation and in return they are entitled to a percentage of a player's future transfer fee, The Guardian reported.

It was reportedly revealed this week how an internal FIFA report had found that third-party ownership trapped clubs in a vicious cycle of debt and dependence and posed risks to players and the integrity of the game. UEFA, frustrated with FIFA's inaction, vowed to introduce new rules to tackle third-party ownership from next season if it refused to act.

Blatter first promised to ban third-party ownership in 2007 but following an executive committee meeting in Zurich on Friday, at which the matter was not officially on the agenda, he said that a clear stance had been made.

Blatter said that they took a firm decision that TPO should be banned but it cannot be banned immediately, adding that there would be a transitional period. He said that a working group led by former FA chairman Geoff Thompson would be in charge of overseeing the introduction of new rules to outlaw the practice.

The FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said that it would be three or four years before TPO was banned outright, with a final decision on the timescale to be made public by next March at the latest.

The UEFA president Michel Platini said that the ban was positive news for player freedom and for the integrity and transparency of the game and had faith in the working group to eradicate TPO from football as soon as possible.