Leading UK football agents have beaten FIFA in a legal tribunal to remove a cap on agent's fees.
CAA Stellar, Wasserman and CAA Base jointly led the case and boast players ranging from Jack Grealish, Luke Shaw and Ivan Toney at Stellar to Federico Valverde, John Stones and Nathan Ake at Wasserman and James Maddison, Son Heung-min and Cole Palmer at Base.
The ruling has gone in favour of agents to prevent a new cap on fees, which was presented by FIFA as a way of keeping money in the game without it being funneled to football agencies.
German football agents won a similar case earlier this year, avoiding the need to follow a raft of FIFA requirements centred on licensing, caps on fees and salaries, prohibiting multiple representations, and putting earnings through a Paris-based financial clearing house.
The FIFA Council had celebrated the new regulations when they were approved in Qatar in December. A statement read: "They are a landmark step towards the establishment of a fairer and more transparent football transfer system".
But the European Football Agents Association said: "These regulations will have severe consequences for the health of football and the careers of thousands of small and medium-sized agents worldwide. We will do everything we can to protect our profession and block the implementation."
Agencies argue they are legitimate businesses and already earn less commission to similar talent industries such as film.
FIFA are expected to fight the ruling further, with one prominent agent telling Standard Sport: "Let's see how they respond."
A statement from The Football Forum, who played a role in the case, read: "Today the arbitral tribunal appointed in accordance with the Rules of the Football Association upheld the claim against the FIFA Football Agents Regulations.
"TFF wishes to congratulate its President, Mr Jonathan Barnett, its founding member of CAA Stellar and the other agencies involved in the case for this success of paramount importance for all agents."
