PHOTOS: FIFA To Ban Third-Party Ownership Of Players

Soccer's governing body FIFA agreed to ban the third-party ownership of players on Friday, its president Sepp Blatter said, GRAPHITTI NEWS reports.

Blatter said a working group would be set up to implement the ban which would come into effect following "a transitional period".

"We took a firm decision that TPO should be banned but it cannot be banned immediately there will be a transitional period," Blatter told a news conference following a meeting of the executive committee.

His announcement followed pressure from European soccer's governing body UEFA, which had said it would ban it unilaterally if FIFA did not act.

Third-party ownership is when the transfer rights of players are wholly or partially owned by the footballer himself or a company, instead of just the player's club.

It is widespread in Brazil and Argentina but is also present in some European countries such as Portugal.

Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano hold up their new shirts after signing for West Ham in 2006. Photograph: Jane Mingay/AP

The "third-party ownership" of footballers was banned by the Premier League after the "economic rights" of the Argentinian stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were discovered to still be owned by two offshore companies when they signed for West Ham United in 2006. The Premier League's chief executive, Richard Scudamore, has compared to "indentured slavery" this practice, by which investors, often operating anonymously via tax havens, buy stakes in players and receive a share of the transfer fee when they are sold.

In its December 2012 meeting, UEFA's Executive Committee adopted an unequivocal stance on the ownership of football players by third parties – namely, that it should be prohibited as a matter of principle. The committee announced its decision at last week's meeting in Lausanne.

As a result of the Executive Committee's decision, world football's governing body FIFA will be requested to issue worldwide regulations banning third-party ownership of players, which is seen in particular as potentially distorting the integrity of competitions, and leads to money being taken out of the game by parties who invest in players and who profit from transfers of these players as a result.

UEFA also announced after the Lausanne meeting that European football's governing body, through its Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC), would also be ready to implement its own regulations to ban third-party ownership arrangements in UEFA competitions, should FIFA decide not to take the appropriate steps. If this were the case, a transitional period of three to four seasons would apply.

The UEFA Executive Committee took a firm stance on third-party ownership of football players at its Lausanne meeting, deciding that it should be prohibited as a matter of principle.

"This topic has been discussed in detail within the Professional Football Strategy Council [comprising UEFA and the European clubs, professional leagues and players union FIFPro Division Europe]," said UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino. "This body issued a recommendation that third-party ownership should be prohibited, and the Executive Committee endorsed this recommendation.

"FIFA participates in the Professional Football Strategy Council, and took part in the meeting in question. We have been speaking together about the matter, and the FIFA Football Committee, chaired by the UEFA President Michel Platini, has also expressed the wish that third-party ownership of players be prohibited.

"Having said this, if FIFA were to change its mind, then UEFA can of course implement regulations with regard to its own competitions – the same as in England and in France, where the third party ownership is prohibited for competitions. As far as the UEFA competitions are concerned, this is also very well within the remit of UEFA."