PLAYERS GOING ON TRIAL ✈️⚽️
Question time ⁉️
“I’m a new agent and a European club has shown an interest in one of my players from Mali. The sporting director would like to invite him over for a trial, but has stated that the player needs to pay for the trip. Shouldn’t they be paying for this? 🤔”
First of all, what is a trial?
The FIFA RSTP describes a trial as “a temporary period during which a player that is not registered with a club is evaluated by that club”.
The RSTP states that, “the club and the invited player shall agree on the conditions of the trial (e.g. payment for accommodation, travel, meals and daily expenses) on the FIFA Trial Form before the trial commences”.
In an African setting, this “agreement” would most likely be between the interested club and the player’s agent/selling club. In a lot of cases the club inviting the player on trial will NOT fund the trip.
The usual set up is that the club issues an invitation letter which states that it’s inviting the player for the trial and is happy to provide the player with accommodation (because most clubs have a player’s quarters where the player can lodge), however the player/agent would have to sort any other logistics.
A number of clubs have in the past complained about inviting and funding players on trial, only to realise that the player is “very average” and not at all what the agent/scout professed. In addition, the videos that were provided by the agent were only of the player’s “best bits” 🤦🏽♀️🤣. The club has ended up rejecting the player and lost money. Therefore, when inviting an untested player on trial they now ask for the agent/player to fund the trip and be refunded if the player meets their requirements and is signed up.
Fair enough!! I guess if an agent is funding the trip, they would make sure that only players fully ready and capable of making the cut are sent on trial and won’t end up wasting everyone’s time 😁.
In my experience, trials usually last approx. two weeks, although some coaches say that they can tell within three days if a player’s “got it” or not! In any case, the maximum duration of a trial for players aged 21 is three weeks.
‼️ Please note that no club should charge you for attending the trial itself…
Yes, there are agencies that periodically organise tournaments where players are trialled, and they may decide to charge a fee for those to cover administration and logistics, but please be mindful about such events as sometimes they turn into money making schemes. I would be doubtful about the integrity of an event where you haven’t been asked to submit a CV/videos or had to undergo any other form of screening in advance.
If you’ve had any good or bad experiences at a trial or arranging/taking a player on trial, as usual please feel free to share and educate us below 😊👇🏾
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