Has anyone checked in on Jim White yet?
Because football transfers fees, and by extension possibly transfer deadline day, could soon become extinct.
Fifpro, the union that represents 70,000 professional footballers around the world, are to undertake legal action against Fifa in an attempt to outlaw the transfer system.
Negotiations with Fifa and Uefa have dragged on, so Fifpro have decided to take their case to the European Commission.
The union are essentially seeking to make it easier for footballers to move between clubs. It believes their members aren’t afforded the same level of freedom of movement as other workers because clubs demand a transfer fee for a contracted player.
If Fifpro get their way, their proposed changes would have the biggest impact on football seen since the Bosman ruling granted players freedom of movement in 1995. This enabled players to leave a club on a free transfer when their contract expired.
A decision is unlikely to be made for another few years, but Theo van Seggelen, Fifpro’s general secretary, has called the case a “historical moment.”
“If we win this case and the European Commission declares it illegal, it will be like what happened after Bosman,” Van Seggelen told The Guardian.
Fifpro also hope to end to the loan system, squad size restrictions and the capping of payments to agents.
