Only by clarifying the legal meaning of sports brokerage and first obtaining the qualification of sports brokerage can we engage in sports brokerage activities reasonably and legally. The qualification of sports brokerage includes two levels: one is the qualification of personnel engaged in sports brokerage activities, and the other is the qualification of subject engaged in sports brokerage business. The results are different. The former is to obtain the qualification certificate of sports brokerage, and the latter is to obtain the business license of sports brokerage. This section will explain the accreditation procedures and requirements of the two qualifications.
First, the qualifications of sports agents.
Sports brokers belong to an intangible industry, and the standardization of sports brokers' behavior mainly depends on the grasp of the quality of employees. Therefore, the Measures for the Administration of Sports Brokers put the qualifications of sports brokers in an important position, and made specific provisions on the application conditions, training, assessment and behavior records of employees.
Through the sports agent qualification, that is, the sports agent qualification certificate is obtained. Simply put, it is necessary to go through the following procedures: application-training-examination-certification.
1. application
The first step to obtain the qualification certificate of sports agent is to apply. Meet the following conditions: have a fixed residence; Having full capacity for civil conduct; College degree or above; If there is no criminal record or illegal brokerage behavior within three years before applying for brokerage qualification, you may apply to the relevant departments.
Step 2 cultivate
If you meet the basic requirements, that is, after the application is passed, you should attend the training course for sports agents organized by the State Sports General Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. In order to ensure the quality and code of conduct of sports brokers and help them pass the examination, the State Sports General Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce will authorize relevant institutions to train and examine sports brokers and issue qualification certificates for sports brokers.
Step 3 check
To obtain the sports agent qualification certificate, you must take the sports agent qualification examination organized by the State Sports General Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and only those who pass the examination can obtain the sports agent qualification certificate. The examination content usually includes three parts: First, the professional knowledge of sports. There are sports introduction, basic knowledge of sports, such as sports organization, competition management and basic knowledge of athletes, sports market analysis, the development of sports industry and the operation methods and laws of sports brokerage activities. The second is legal knowledge. Including the relevant laws and regulations promulgated by the state, such as civil law, tax law, company law, contract law, advertising law, etc. Measures for the Management of Sports Brokers and Related Markets, Qualification Management of Athletes, Competition Bidding and other sports administrative regulations. ; At the same time, we should understand the articles of association and relevant regulations of international sports organizations. The third is economic knowledge. Sports brokerage is a kind of commercial activity, which needs to master the economic knowledge of marketing and marketing.
4. Certificate
The issuing authorities of sports brokerage qualification certificates are the State Sports General Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the certificates are uniformly formulated and issued by them. Meet the application conditions, participate in sports agent training, and obtain the qualification certificate of sports agent through the examination. In addition, according to the Measures for the Administration of Sports Brokers, the qualification certificate is subject to an annual inspection system, which is handled by the institutions authorized by the State Sports General Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Those who fail to participate in the annual review without reason, or fail to pass the annual review, their sports agent qualification certificate will automatically become invalid.
Under the trend of modern sports globalization, cross-regional and cross-border sports brokerage activities have become very common. Therefore, in addition to abiding by relevant domestic laws and regulations, sports brokers must also understand and abide by international laws, and sometimes they must obtain relevant qualifications from international sports organizations before they can engage in international sports brokerage activities. Here is a brief introduction. Generally speaking, to obtain the agent qualification of international sports organizations, you need to go through certain basic procedures: application, assessment and certification. At the same time, quite a number of organizations have also put forward requirements for deposits.
(1) qualification
In general, the basic requirements of international sports organizations for applicants are not very strict, mainly to examine the credibility of applicants. For example, FIFA requires applicants to attach documents that can prove their credibility. In addition, in order to avoid monopoly and cheating, international sports organizations require applicants not to work in the corresponding sports organizations or have any cooperative relationship with them. If an official or employee of a sports organization wants to become a sports agent recognized by the organization, he/she must apply after the original work has ended for a certain period of time.
After meeting the above conditions, the sports organization will issue a review notice to the applicant. The evaluation can be written or oral. The purpose of the evaluation is mainly to examine the applicant's understanding of the project and its management regulations, his mastery and application of relevant laws, and whether he has the ability to provide consulting services to the client. In some cases, international sports organizations do not directly evaluate applicants, but entrust member associations to evaluate applicants within their jurisdiction. For example, FIFA stipulates that national football associations will interview their own FIFA broker license applicants according to the assessment outline issued by FIFA. Brokerage qualification certificate, that is, the license examination is generally held once a year, and those who pass the examination will be awarded certificates, which are generally valid for 2 to 5 years.
After the applicant has passed the examination, the qualification examination shall be conducted by a specialized agency. For example, the qualification examinations for international track and field agents and tennis agents are conducted by the International Federation of Track and Field Agents and the Federation of Tennis Agents respectively; The qualification of Italian football agents is decided by the Football Agents Affairs Committee established by the Italian Football Association.
(2) Registration system
After obtaining the qualification, the applicant must register with the corresponding sports organization or broker's federation and pay the registration fee. Some projects also implement the annual registration system, and brokers need to accept the annual examination and pay the annual registration fee. According to the laws of every state in the United States, sports agents must register with the agent management agency designated by the state government, fill in the application form (including work experience, actual work experience and training certificate), and pay the registration fee ranging from 50 to 1000.
In order to protect the interests of themselves and their members, many sports organizations stipulate that sports agents can only organize competitions or represent athletes in their own names after obtaining recognized business licenses.
(3) the deposit system
Because the behavior of sports brokers is hidden, it is easy to breed fraud in brokerage activities, so the deposit system is widely used abroad. This is a powerful measure and system to restrict and standardize the behavior of sports agents through economic means.
When applying for registration, the applicant must deposit a certain amount of deposit in the bank designated by the registration authority as a deposit to bind the broker to perform his obligations and standardize the broker's business. Once the broker breaches the contract, part or all of it will be deducted from his bank deposit as a fine, and then the broker must immediately replenish the money in the bank, otherwise he will be disqualified as a broker.
The amount of deposit stipulated by FIFA is 200,000 Swiss francs, the Italian Football Association stipulates that the deposit for its domestic football agents is 7,000 Wan Li, and the similar provisions of the English Football Association are 30,000 pounds. The track and field broker's deposit is about $6,543,800+. The margin of American securities firms ranges from 25,000 to 654.38 million+US dollars.
Second, the qualifications of sports agents.
Sports brokerage activities are business activities aimed at collecting commissions. Individuals and organizations independently engaged in sports brokerage activities must be registered with the administrative department for industry and commerce before they can become legal market operators. It can be registered as an individual sports agent, a partnership sports agent or a sports agency. Anyone who meets the conditions for establishing an individual broker, partnership broker or brokerage company in the Measures promulgated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce may apply to the local administration for industry and commerce for registration as an individual broker, partnership brokerage enterprise or brokerage company. The administrative department for industry and commerce shall, within 30 days from the date of accepting the registration, make a decision on whether to approve the registration or not. Except for individual brokers, partnership brokerage organizations and brokerage companies, other economic organizations engaged in brokerage activities need to be examined and approved by the local administrative department for industry and commerce, and re-register or change their registration.
In view of the particularity of sports brokerage industry, there are special requirements for the establishment of sports brokerage organizations, with special emphasis on the fact that employees must hold brokerage qualification certificates in whole or in part. Specifically, an individual broker must hold a brokerage qualification certificate himself; There must be at least two persons holding brokerage qualification certificates in the partnership brokerage organization; The brokerage company must have more than five full-time personnel who have obtained the corresponding professional brokerage qualification certificates.
Section 2 Code of Conduct for Sports Agents
First, the scope of activities of sports agents
1. Individual sports agents can accept the personal entrustment of athletes and engage in the following businesses:
Acting as an agent for athletes to negotiate with sports organizations, advertising companies, commodity production and operation enterprises and other units;
Acting as an agent for athletes' personal affairs such as financial management and insurance;
Planning and development of athletes' image;
Arrange athletes to participate in performances or competitions;
Other business.
When engaging in brokerage business, individual sports brokers must present their business licenses (photocopies) and valid sports broker qualification certificates that have passed the annual inspection by the sports administrative department and the administrative department for industry and commerce. Individual sports brokers shall not be entrusted by sports organizations to engage in sports brokerage activities, and shall not engage in brokerage activities related to sports competitions and sports performances.
2. Sports brokerage companies and sports brokerage companies may engage in the following sports brokerage activities:
Sports brokerage activities entrusted by athletes;
Sports brokerage activities entrusted by sports organizations;
Accept the entrustment to engage in brokerage activities related to sports competitions and sports performances;
Other business.
Sports brokerage companies and sports brokerage companies uniformly collect commissions from outside. Its business personnel shall not engage in entrusted sports brokerage activities in their own names. When engaging in brokerage business, the business personnel of sports brokerage institutions must present the power of attorney of their own units and the "Sports Brokerage Qualification Certificate" which is valid after the annual inspection by the sports administrative department and the administrative department for industry and commerce.
Sports brokerage companies and business personnel of sports brokerage companies shall not practice in more than two sports brokerage institutions at the same time. At the same time, individual sports brokers are not allowed to practice in sports brokerage companies and brokerage companies.
Second, the obligations of sports agents.
1. Set up account books and fill them in truthfully, and keep the original vouchers, business records, account books and brokerage contracts for more than 3 years;
2 truthfully and timely introduce the relevant information to the parties, and keep business secrets for the parties;
3. Accept the supervision and inspection of daily brokerage behavior by the sports and industrial and commercial administrative departments, and provide documents, vouchers, account books and other materials required for inspection;
4. When collecting commissions and fees, it shall issue invoices to the parties concerned and pay taxes according to law.
Third, sports agents prohibit behavior.
1. Concealing important matters related to brokerage activities;
2. Beyond the approved brokerage business scope;
3. Collect fees and articles other than commission from the parties;
4. Take fraud, coercion, bribery and malicious collusion to harm the interests of the parties;
5. To engage in business by slandering other sports agents or paying referral fees;
6. Other acts prohibited by laws and regulations.
Fourth, legal responsibility.
1. If a sports agent violates laws and regulations and causes economic losses to the parties concerned, he shall be liable for compensation.
2. Disputes between brokers and clients can be settled through consultation, or they can be applied to an arbitration institution for arbitration according to an arbitration agreement agreed by both parties or reached afterwards; If no agreement is reached, and no arbitration agreement is reached afterwards, it may bring a suit in a people's court.
3. Sports and industrial and commercial administrative departments shall, within their respective functions and powers, supervise and inspect the daily brokerage activities of sports brokers according to law, and deal with them according to the situation:
Those who engage in sports brokerage activities without registration shall be banned by the administrative department for industry and commerce, and their illegal income shall be confiscated in accordance with relevant laws and regulations;
Acts that violate laws, regulations and rules such as registration, advertising, anti-unfair competition and protection of consumers' rights and interests shall be handled in accordance with relevant regulations;
Sports agents who violate the ban may be fined and disqualified. If the violation of the criminal law constitutes a crime, it shall be transferred to judicial organs to investigate the criminal responsibility of the parties according to law.
Section 3 Sports Brokerage Contract
Individual sports brokers or sports brokerage institutions engaged in sports brokerage activities must sign written entrustment contracts, disciplinary contracts or intermediary contracts. The model text of the brokerage contract used shall be selected by both parties through consultation.
A sports brokerage contract is an agreement that the sports broker accepts the entrustment of the client, handles the entrusted affairs for the client in the name of the client or in his own name, and collects remuneration and other expenses according to the regulations or agreements. Sports brokerage contract is an economic contract to provide sports services. Sports brokers engage in brokerage activities and provide brokerage services to customers by entering into brokerage contracts with customers. The sports brokerage contract is a double-service, paid contract, that is, there are mutual obligations and rights between the sports broker and the client, and the realization of the client's rights must be at the expense of paying some remuneration to the sports broker. Sports brokerage contract is a promise contract, which can be established once both parties reach an agreement.
First, the form of sports brokerage contract
The form of a contract refers to the way in which the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract are clearly defined, which is the external expression of the parties' agreement. According to China's economic life practice and legal provisions, the form of contract is divided into oral form and written form. Written forms can be divided into ordinary written forms and special written forms. If the law requires that a certain form must be adopted, the parties must adopt that form, otherwise the contract will be invalid.
Oral contract is widely used in daily life because of its simplicity. However, because there is no written evidence, once a dispute occurs, it is difficult to prove and distinguish responsibility. Therefore, general economic contracts are in written form except for immediate settlement. Sports brokers should also be in written form. After the parties reach an agreement through consultation, they should reach an agreement in written form. Although it is more complicated than oral contract, it can strengthen the responsibility of the parties to the contract, urge them to fully and conscientiously perform the contract, and facilitate the supervision and inspection of the contract management organ. In the event of a dispute, it is convenient to give evidence, and it is easy to distinguish responsibilities.
As far as China's current sports brokerage activities are concerned, sports brokerage contracts are mostly in ordinary written form. Generally, it is not required to adopt a fixed format, but all the rights and obligations of the parties should be clearly stated and signed and sealed by the parties. When concluding a written contract, a legal person shall affix its official seal or special seal for the contract, which shall be signed and sealed by its legal representative or agent.
In the world, sports brokerage contracts are usually written. Some sports organizations explicitly write written sports brokerage contracts into the Regulations on the Administration of Sports Brokers, and some even require the use of their standard contract texts. In order to simplify the procedures, international individual sports organizations, such as IAAF and national sports management agencies, such as the Italian Football Association, make the necessary clauses of the brokerage contract into tables and texts according to the relevant regulations of the organizations, and use them as standard format contracts for the parties to fill in.
Two, the conclusion of the sports brokerage contract and the necessary terms
The conclusion process of sports brokerage contract is the negotiation process between the parties, which makes the expression of the will of all parties tend to be consistent and reach an agreement. Its general procedure can be divided into two stages: offer and acceptance: (1) offer. An offer is a contract proposal, a proposal and request sent by one party to another party to conclude a contract. The forms of offer can be divided into oral offer and written offer. (2) commitment. Acceptance is an acceptance of an offer, which means that the offeree expresses complete agreement with the offeror's offer. Generally, the way of acceptance should be the same as the way of offer. Where there is a special agreement between the parties, or the offeror has a special request in advance, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement or request.
In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of both the sports agent and the client, the sports agent must sign a sports brokerage contract with the client before handling the brokerage business, and determine the responsibilities, rights and interests of both parties in the form of a contract, thus being protected by law. Sports brokerage contract belongs to the category of discipline contract and must contain the necessary clauses stipulated in the discipline contract. But it has its particularity in subject matter and pricing.
The subject matter is the object of the rights and obligations of the parties to the sports brokerage contract. If there is no subject matter or the subject matter is unclear, the rights and obligations cannot be determined and a contract cannot be concluded. Therefore, the subject matter is the essential first clause of all contracts. The object of sports brokerage contract is different from general commodities, but sports competitions, clubs, athletes' services and so on. Different types of contracts have different targets, such as labor contracts, which can be clubs, sports teams, athletes, etc. Such as the project contract, the target can be sports competition, sports conference, sports tourism, sports inspection, etc.; Another example is the right transfer contract, the subject matter can be the right of TV broadcasting, the right of advertising sponsorship, the right to operate franchise marks and so on.
In the pricing of the subject matter of sports brokerage contract, it is difficult to describe it in the form of quantity and quality of general goods. Quantity and quality are the important conditions for determining the goal and the specific characteristics of the goal. Quantity is the measure of an object, while quality is the synthesis of its internal quality and appearance. Because the objects of sports brokerage contracts are mostly intangible resources, competitions, clubs, sports teams or athletes cannot obtain the quantity and quality of the objects through certain calculation formulas. Therefore, only through the special intangible assets evaluation method and comparison with the market situation can we get a general description of the target value.
Therefore, a sports brokerage contract generally includes the following contents: the names and residences of the client and the sports broker; Sports brokerage matters, completion period and specific requirements; The scope of authority of sports agents; The amount, time and method of commission payment; Liability for breach of contract, dispute settlement methods and other matters that both parties think should be agreed upon.
Three. Invalid contract and contract performance
An invalid contract refers to a contract that is not legally binding from the time it is concluded because it does not meet or violate the legal provisions. In any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed as an invalid sports brokerage contract:
(1) Contracts that violate laws and administrative regulations. The reason is that the subject is unqualified, the content is illegal and the form is incomplete.
(2) Contracts signed by means of fraud or coercion.
(3) A contract signed by an agent beyond the agency authority, or a contract signed by an agent with himself or an agent in the name of the principal.
(4) contracts that violate the public interests of the state or society.
After the sports brokerage contract is confirmed to be invalid, it shall not be performed if it has not been performed, and it shall be terminated immediately if it is being performed. For the fulfilled part, it should be handled according to different situations, such as return, compensation, nationalization, self-responsibility, etc.
If a sports brokerage contract is established according to law and confirmed as valid, it is legally binding, and the parties must fully perform their contractual obligations. All parties involved in the performance of the contract should fully and properly perform their respective obligations in accordance with the provisions of the contract, so that their rights can be fully realized.
Brokerage contract is the concrete embodiment of brokerage behavior and the core of brokerage activities. In order to ensure the performance of the brokerage contract, the industrial and commercial administrative authorities at all levels are responsible for the supervision and management of the brokerage contract, formulate a unified text of the brokerage contract, and be responsible for the verification of the brokerage contract. Sports brokerage contracts should also be subject to the management and supervision of state administrative departments for industry and commerce at all levels.
In foreign countries, some sports organizations have taken some special measures to strengthen the management of sports brokerage contracts. For example, the American Basketball Players League requires brokers to use standardized "broker/player" entrustment contracts; Baseball Players' League regards the submission of "entrustment contract" every year as a mandatory requirement for brokers to retain their continuing qualifications.