It is an under-scrutinised aspect of the Australian game, especially in the salary-capped A-League where almost two-thirds of players every season jostle for new deals. Richard Parkin delves into the world of agents, brokers and intermediaries
Less than two months before the A-League regular season concludes, it’s a time of great anxiety for many within Australian football. Fans check their phones nervously to see results elsewhere as clubs compete for a finals berth, to host a home final, or to win the premiership itself. Players – as many as two-thirds of whom according to the PFA’s most recent annual report could be off-contract come 1 June – fight to be re-signed by their clubs or to put themselves in the shop window with a run of solid late-season performances.
Clubs, especially those out of finals reckoning, urgently look to refresh playing rosters for next season, competing among themselves from the limited pool of established Australian professional players. And liaising furiously between both players and clubs are the agents, or intermediaries, who know that this is the time of year when anxiety provides opportunities and good money is there to be made.
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