Memoire Online - Internationalisation économique du sport. Les clubs de football sur les traces des entreprises multinationales

Its essential function is to prospect and unearth in time any talented player, star rising of football in his geographical area. This one covers, with some exceptions, the territorial limits of a city or a province having in its championship of teams of football. This kind of agent, through which the majority of the rich teams operate on grounds even remote countries of their, is different from another which, is to him holder of a license of the FIFA.

1.A.1.c. Behavior of the commissioned agents and range of internationalization.

In comparison with the method setting-up, in fact the agreement « illicit » between employment contractors of the players of the Third World and their former members, one can wonder whether the transfers carried out in this manner licit, and are entered or if one can regard this operation as being a transfer. With our opinion, the negative one is essential. Because, at first sight, which says transfer, within the meaning of the FIFA and of its affiliated, known as contract signed between two clubs of football.

The player is not subtilized in catimini. Indeed, carrying out their activities clandestinely, certainly, in margin of the laws and established sporting payments, the commissioned agents, also called semi-official recruiters, see being confirmed this other attribute whose pejoration is not exaggerated at all. They differently try out the reality of the mercato, already examined. If they do not have the calling card of a large local club of football, to hardly veil the image of slave trader who sticks it to the skin, these agents, forts of the silver advantages which them job gets to them, are established quickly in networks, where can find itself easily, official national federation of football, special correspondents of the Minister for the sports and certain dignitaries of the country which is used as folding screen in the event of the make-up removal of these practices.

Since often, the insurances offered by the agent to its club, in connection with its recruit, can prove less conclusive thereafter, it is frequent to note that, once in Europe, the young player who predestined himself with a prestigious career in his country of origin, finds himself abandoned in the street and condemned, in spite of him, with forced clandestinity. Here, we thus pose the problems of the requalification of the market of purchase and sale of the young players by men of which the statute not regulated by the national law remains in any case little glittering. They are true makers of « clandestine of football international ».

By reading the correspondence below of Cecilia GABIZON (1998), only the skeptics could underestimate the planetary width of these practices, with the imperfections disastrously élaguables : « In Brazil, hunting for the youthful talents is a high level sport. Sergio, 14 years tells : «I had just finished a match in my village, in Mato Grosso, when a man proposed to take me along to Rio, to play club of Vasco». His/her parents, street pedlars, immediately agreed, too happy to imagine a better life for their son. For one year, Sergio has divided a dormitory stripped with twenty other kids of all the country. Boarder of Vasco de Gama, champion of Brazil, his life is reduced to the balloon and the dream : «the road of glory is long. One must have surely forgotten from where one comes as one arrives there». As in any speculative transaction, the drama of the players on this market rhyme with the jubilation of the intermediaries. «Without intermediary, nobody can arrive there», slips Sergio, by looking at his discoverer. Ercy Rosa, around fifty, tired smile and Ray Round of applause foil, proclaims technical appraiser. For more than thirty years, it has had a network of observers which call it as soon as appears a gifted kid. Sometimes, Ercy moves, gauge the potential of the child and is given the responsability to convince the parents. A simple calling card to the colors of Vasco de Gama is often enough to impress them. «I do not propose money. But, I make it possible to their child the roof, cover, the medical care and, especially, to become a large player». They are thousands in Brazil to thus exploit the misery and the love of the foot. Because, if the kids do not see yet the color of gold, the discoverers such Ercy perceive the important sums for small most talented. «I sell an attacker like Sergio for 3000 dollars. A back will seek in the 15.000. Most required are the strikers enters 14 and 16 years». Since Ronaldo, the prices brutally climbed in Brazil, because the clubs fear to let escape the rare pearl. To have refused to pay the tickets of bus of the teenager Ronaldo, Flamengo lost the wonder, turned over to play in the working suburbs of Rio. Little time after, two contractors, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, discovered it in its club of São Cristovão. It was 14 years old and was worth 7.500 dollars. Malignant, they obtained a delegation of the parents ensuring a statute of tutors to them. Today, Ronaldo maintains nearly 40 people to the country. Its business managers inherit vain commissions to each transaction and manage with profit its image. The history is not always also happy. On 1.000 endowed kids, one or two will be aces; a handle, players pro; the others will turn over to the normal life, «a great dream in less», comments on Eduardo, 17 years. He left Bahia and its family one year ago, attracted in Rio by a véreux discoverer. The day when it was wounded, the club where it was with the test and the frontier runner it gave up. Since, it is involved on a waste ground and does not dare to return at his place the empty hands. In this trade without contract nor laid down rules, the clubs worry little about the wounded people. To avoid being made steal a future champion by a competitor, they prefer to accommodate many kids, for the majority acquired with three pennies of assistance to the family and a small check with the discoverer. Romario, Carlos Germano, Edmundo, inter alia, are from the die of Vasco. «A player of talent is worth at least 10 million dollars. That covers the administrative expenditures of my sections amateurs during six years», calculates Darcy Peixoto, the leader of the club. Jota Jota, voluntary, accommodates free young people of the shantytowns at the edge of the beach of Rio. It is ironical: «One is obliged to sell our children. Here, they have very few chances to leave itself there. Fortunately that God had an illumination when it created football. It gave the talent to the poor.».

The nets of such agents did not save the young talents especially of Africa, bus, as Gazetta dello Sport (1998, p. 5) brings it back « more than 300 African professional players play in European clubs (including 90% in France) : Nigerians, Ghanaians, Zairean, Algerian, Cameronian, bast or Angolan. »

Unfortunately, it is frequently noted that certain African clubs of football which one would await obviously the launching of a true partnership with teams of the close countries, raffolent illicit tranferts. The strategy installation often offers a spectacle like this one : they place in famous countries « seedbeds » of the talented players of the semi-official recruiters, who are used to them as intermediaries, to only provide them at cheap price, certainly, of the young footballers of the country in which they are also originating.

In the majority of the cases, these clubs belong to the oil companies or those having invested in sectors which confer a quite real importance to them. Thus the Democratic Republic of Congo feeds it the teams of the oil companies of Angola, Gabon and the teams of the mining companies of Zambia.

1.A.1.d. Transfers of the Congolese players operated by semi-official recruiters.

According to the newspaper the Future, a daily newspaper appearing in Kinshasa (edition of November 27, 2000), which quotes in its turn the Vision newspaper, always of the market of the press kinoise (edition of November 23, 2000) « transfers of the Congolese players, evaluated with 461.000 $ US are negotiated in Angola ». The newspaper published the list partial of the negotiators with, taking into consideration each name, the amount of the transfer. However, the interrogation by the two newspapers on the fact of knowing if the Treasury and the federation had been able to perceive their respective percentages on all these transactions throws a real doubt on the admissibility of the aforesaid transfers. Therefore, the thesis of illicit transfers and semi-official recruitments cuts well growth its way of confirmation. In the case of Congo, facility with which the young players readily agree from to go away towards the eldorado on the one hand, and the inefficiency of the measurements taken by the political and administrative authorities tending to thwart these massive departures are due to the fact that without policy of use nor of framing of the young people, even of all the working population national, no concession to convince the young people to remain with the country is not possible. Moreover, although abroad, the players who are able to emerge there contribute to their manner with survival of their families living in Congo.

Table VIII. List partial of the negotiators of the transfers of the Congolese players evolving/moving in Angola.

Names of the players	Old club	Current club	Amount of transfer
Mazowa	Sodigraf (Kinshasa)	Dagosto	12.000 $ US
Sifwa	Sodigraf	Sagrada	8.000 $ US
Kisolokele	Sodigraf	Academia	6.000 $ US
Kabo Makabi	Sodigraf	Rangol	12.000 $ US
Gina Isomboma	Sodigraf	Progreso	12.000 $ US
Mukuenza	Star	Rangol	15.000 $ US

Diboko Jean Bosco	Matonge	Tombua	12.000 $ US
The Small one	Mabuilu	Tombua	14.000 $ US
Franc	Union	Tombua	10.000 $ US
Tintin	Kalamu	Tombua	10.000 $ US
Banyengele	Sapatra	Progreso	7.000 $ US
Mbala Lide	Dragons	Rangol	16.000 $ US
Mbila	Sodigraf	Dagosto	18.000 $ US
Isaac	Kintambo	Dagosto	15.000 $ US
Guy	Sodigraf	Petro Atletico	20.000 $ US
Mukinza	Star	Rangol	15.000 $ US
Goliat	Matonge	Dagosto	12.000 $ US
Jean-Claude	Bilima	Sonangol	15.000 $ US
Libiza Alain	Jeek	Sonangol	15.000 $ US
Yaba	Matonge	Sonangol	12.000 $ US
Kande	Lupopo	Sonangol	10.000 $ US
Hero	Mabuilu	Sonangol	10.000 $ US
Fofana Guy	Matonge	Sonangol	12.000 $ US
Nzazi Bandimi		Sagrada	8.000 $ US
Tubilandu	Sapatra	Sagrada	15.000 $ US

Mbiyavanga	Motema Pembe	Petro Atletico	15.000 $ US
Akobolo	Kalamu	Dagosto	10.000 $ US
Chalana	Utexafrica	Dagosto	8.000 $ US
Serdade	Style of Congo	Sonangol	12.000 $ US
Ayembe	Bingo	Sonangol	14.000 $ US
Ninja	Style of Congo	Sonangol	8.000 $ US
Lebo	Motema Pembe (Kin)	Tombua	12.000 $ US
Morel	Union (Kinshasa)	Academia	7.000 $ US
Zola	Utexafrica	Academia	10.000 $ US
Ebola	Nika (Kisangani)	Academia	10.000 $ US
Ebola Dady	Matonge (Kinshasa)	Inter	8.000 $ US

It is true that the transfers of the players, illicit and licit, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola are frequent, and are spread out over several years behind. However, even if the quoted newspapers do not give the years under reviews during which these operations were déoulées, it is extremely probable that information thus delivered would be close to true, because the people designated by name as negotiators are manifestly known Congolese sporting medium in general, and kinois in particular. But nothing makes it possible to believe that the transfers of the Congolese sportsmen take place only in football. The baskett and the martial arts are often victims of what would not be far from a raid. Not very eulogistic, the profile of the semi-official recruiter is opposed, would be this only on the plan of the principles, with that of the agent laid off of the FIFA.

Internationalisation économique du sport. Les clubs de football sur les traces des entreprises multinationales

1.A.1.b. Functions of the agent.