Examining Agents’ Activities in Football: A Comparison between Türkiye and England

The aim of this study is to compare football agent activities in Türkiye and England within financial, administrative, and legal contexts. The study employs a qualitative research design, utilizing document analysis, purposive sampling for data collection, and content analysis methods. The documents collected as raw data include football agent regulations, lists of licensed football agents, agent payments, and agent payment reports publicly shared by the Turkish Football Federation and the English Football Association. The findings indicate that significantly higher amounts of agent fees are paid in England compared to Türkiye. While all clubs in England declare agent payments, the number of clubs reporting such payments in Türkiye is considerably limited. In addition, while data on women’s football is available in England, no such data exists for Türkiye. Furthermore, the number of licensed football agents in England is substantially higher than in Türkiye. The results of the study reveal that England operates a more transparent system compared to Türkiye. This is attributed to the more effective management of information processes in England. In Türkiye, the high number of unlicensed football agents leads to off-the-record activities, which are not reflected in official reports. Similarly, in terms of auditing processes, England demonstrates a more effective and systematic structure compared to Türkiye