By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Phoney football agents are defrauding young players by demanding huge sums of money for fake trials and contracts at a raft of top clubs, including several in the English Premier League, according to an investigation undertaken by the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security.
Via its Sport Integrity Directorate, the ICSS, which monitors safety and security throughout the game, carried out a probe of individuals pretending to be licensed agents or employees of clubs. Three top-flight English clubs – Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea – are among those identified as being unwittingly hit by the scam.
Without naming the fake agents or any players, the ICSS explained the mechanism whereby young footballers were being duped.
“Players have been approached via social media sites such as Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter. One method the criminals use to identify players is file sharing sites where players upload videos of themselves playing football,” an ICSS statement said.
“Having established contact with the player, the fake agent/scout will normally ask for £500/€500/$500 for the purpose of registering their interest and for any ‘visas’ they say are necessary. The fake agent/scout will sometimes indicate that flights will be paid for by the club, but sometimes they will ask for more money to cover travel or other items such as medical fees and insurance. The sums they ask for can be as much €3,000.
“The criminals have mainly promised trials/contracts at Premier League Clubs in England but have also used the name of other clubs.
“At present, the criminals seem to have approached players in Spain, Africa, and Australia, but quite possibly players from more countries have been affected. The criminals often produce fake documentation from clubs and email these to players as proof of the trial/contract offers.
“Bank accounts in England and also money transfer accounts in England, USA, and Ukraine have also been used by the fraudsters to try and take payments from young professionals.”
In what appears to be a fraud of potentially dangerous proportions, the ICSS issued the following advice to clubs and National Associations:
Include a warning on their website of this scam and that if someone asks a player for money to assist with a trial/contract offer/extra training then it is not a real offer.
Warn players of the ways they may be approached and the methods the criminals are using.
Advise players to contact the club in question if they are offered a trial, contract or extra training and they are not sure if it is a real offer.
Advice to Players was as follows:
Clubs will not contact you by Facebook, Linked In, Twitter. If they do contact you online then they will email you using a registered club email account.
Clubs are not likely to use Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo email accounts. They will only use their official club email account to make contact with you.
If you have any doubts, contact the club by checking their website for contact details first and telephone/email them.
Scouts are paid by the club. A genuine approach to you will never include a request for payment.
Clubs never ask for money in relation to a trial or contract offer. If someone asks you for money to arrange a visa, flight, or medical, then the offer is not real.
Visas have to be applied for in the player’s home country so if someone is offering to do this for you in return for payment then it is not a real offer.
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