FA agents exam descends into chaos after internet crashes – but clock keeps ticking

The Football Association’s exams for around 700 aspiring football agents descended into chaos today after the internet connection at Birmingham’s NEC went down and some candidates were unable to complete the Fifa-mandated test in the hour allotted.

Invigilators from the FA made announcements apologising for the problems over the hall’s public address system while the exam was in progress, with some of those in the hall leaving their seats to protest that they could not get online to complete the test.

The agent exam introduced by Fifa is crucial for those seeking to represent footballers, and today’s exam was the last opportunity to be licensed before new regulations come into effect on October 1. The exam costs £300 to sit and there is a further $600 [£483] payable annually to Fifa for the license itself. The next exam is not until May and any unlicensed agent caught working in football before then could be subject to a two-year ban and a fine.

The candidates at the NEC today were instructed to bring their own laptops to sit the exam and - once in their seats - to log in to their Fifa accounts on the wifi provided. However, many found that once they had begun the exam, the connection would drop out when they clicked on the next question. When it was eventually restored, they noticed with horror that the timer was still running and precious minutes had slipped away while they were trying to re-establish the connection.

Those who arrived early found that they could not do past papers as practice because the internet connection was not functioning. Others even reported too few plug points.

Not all of the 700 trying to pass the 20-question multiple-choice test – pass rate is 75 per cent correct answers – were affected but some in the room have told Telegraph Sport that a sizeable number were disrupted. As the problems deepened, the entire room was told over the public address system that it would be reported to Fifa. In addition, the FA officials read out new logins over the public address for those who could not get online.

It is not clear whether the FA is authorised to adjust the pass threshold to compensate those who lost time. The FA said: “Technical issues were experienced today during the sitting of the Fifa football agent exam, and some of the candidates were unable to complete the exam in time. We are working with Fifa to agree next steps and we apologise to candidates who were affected by these technical challenges.”

The new Fifa regulations have proved deeply unpopular with leading agents. Among them is a limit on fees to three per cent of a player’s earnings on all annual salaries of more than $200,000 [£161,000], or six per cent if they act on behalf of the player and the club. Agents brokering deals will only be allowed to earn a maximum of ten per cent of the fee paid. Critics of the new regulations say that clubs will find other ways of paying agents bigger fees in order to secure the players they want.

An agent’s career can still be very lucrative given the transfer fees paid and contracts awarded, with the global transfer industry now fuelled by the Premier League’s wealth. Fifa reported this month that €1.57 billion [£1.27 billion] was spent in the January window alone and $899 million [£725 million] of that by Premier League clubs. The new agents’ regulations were challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport with Fifa prevailing in a judgement in July.