A group who claim technical problems with Fifa’s online football agent exam prevented them from completing the test are to take their cases to the court of arbitration for sport.
As revealed last month in the Guardian, dozens of prospective agents complained there were various issues with the platform being used for the new global exam that took place for the first time on 18 June. That included candidates left with insufficient time to answer the questions and later finding out that multiple answers had not been recorded. Some were allowed to resit the exam on 30 June, but many were informed they will have to wait until next year and had no right to appeal.
In a letter sent last month to Fifa’s general secretariat, the group of more than 40 candidates who were affected asked for a review “based on fundamental and obvious errors in the application of Fifa regulations” that they estimate could have had an effect on “thousands worldwide”.
“Across borders and examination centres, candidates encountered severe technical and procedural irregularities that compromised the fairness, transparency and validity of the exam,” the letter says, listing several examples including “incorrect or misleading questions” and “multiple correct answers marked as wrong”.
“The list of technical issues is extensive and in many cases nearly never‑ending. These conditions made it impossible for many candidates to complete the exam under fair or standardised conditions. We are appealing directly to Fifa, believing in its responsibility and commitment to justice. We are not an institution. We are students and professionals, volunteering our time in search of fairness. Please do not reject our appeal automatically.”
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Fifa said it “diligently checked every substantiated complaint regarding technical impediments in the context of the exam” but could not respond further to the letter and claimed the issue had “already been resolved”. As such, the group is now planning to take their case to Cas, where they will request an opportunity to retake the exam before the scheduled date next year.
Fifa has yet to comment publicly on the claims, but has been reassured by providers that there was no issue with the exam platform. World football’s governing body is believed to be satisfied that most of the candidates were able to take the exam with no technical problems.
