There is a guy, possibly with an African accent who is passing himself off as a licensed football agent. A young footballer in USA was approached by this man by email. He obtained the players details, which were posted on a website, socceragent.net. The "agent" said his name was James Leach and was based in UK.
The player checked the English FA's list of licensed agents, and James Leach was listed. "Mr Leach" sent the player an e-ticket to England and said he had arranged trials with Brentford and Luton. The player had to send $600 to cover medical insurance. The player checked the e-ticket and it was authentic. However, the agent called the player a few hours before his flight departed to say the trials were cancelled due to Euro 2008.
The player has not been able to recover his $600.
I was approached to help and found that James Leach is indeed a licensed agent, but when I called the number on his website, nobody knew of Mr Leach. I immediately contacted the FA and they gave me the following press release:-
Scam warning
Monday, 21 April 2008.
Young players, clubs and parents are advised about a scam that The FA has recently been made aware of.
Persons purporting to be licensed agents are sending out spam emails promising trials with various clubs, using details from the list of licensed agents on the FIFA website, www.fifa.com. The clubs themselves have no knowledge of the potential 'trials'.
The scam appears to work around promising trials to young players with various clubs and then asking for payment in advance to cover 'insurance and travel'. Once the money is sent, no more is heard.
Anyone who is a victim of this scam should contact their local police.
In addition, please be reminded that under FIFA Regulations, trial matches overseas are not permitted. In any event, you would be advised that if attending training or games in England, Players should ordinarily be covered by the Club's own indemnity policy and medical cover. If you wish to check the licensed nature of an individual, always ensure that you consult the relevant lists of Authorised Agents (either on TheFA.com or FIFA.com) and contact the relevant national association if any doubt remains.
Regards,Alison BrownI would ask that anybody who is looking to contact an agent in the UK contact myself or if you wish to play in USA contact MLS players association. Alternatively, ask ProLeague clubs which agents they have dealt with in the past, such as Mike Berry.
However, I would advise that the first option for any aspiring footballers is to obtain a trial at a ProLeague club.
With the greatest respect, if you aren't good enough for the ProLeague, its unlikely that an agent will be interested.
And never, ever send money or book flights without confirmation from the football club theb trial is arranged with. If you have a trial booked with a club, please contact me and I will talk to the club for you.Finally, always take advice before signing a contract with an agent to make sure you understand the contract. FPATT , or a sports lawyer could help you with this.
