Didier Drogba's campaign to combat fake football agents

While browsing through Facebook, Abdulwasiu Abdrasaq saw an advert for Australian-based firm TalentBracket.net offering to make his dreams of playing professional football in Europe possible. All he needed to do was enter his contact details, preferred playing position and country of interest — they would do the rest.

"After some few weeks, they sent me an email that my application was successful and Real Betis had chosen me," the 19-year-old told DW.

He was told that he would have an interview with their Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini via another scouting platform, CoachPad.net. A few days later, coach "Pellegrini" emailed him an attached sponsorship letter and asked that he pay €125 euros ($135) as counterpart funding while the club would cover the balance of €425 euros. He and his family raised the money and sent it through an online payments platform.

Weeks later, he was again asked to pay €250 for a work visa application while the club would cover the balance of €500 so he could visit Spain for trials.It was then he became suspicious and reached out to a local football players' support platform, Footballers Connect, which looked through his correspondence with the club and confirmed his suspicions.

"They told me that I had been scammed," said Abdrasaq. He is now concentrating on getting his degree in Mass Communication at Kwara State University while advising other young players to beware of platforms like TalentBracket.net and CoachPad.net. Both platforms did not respond when asked for comment by DW.

Unfortunately, few people are quick to realize they are being scammed.

Big promises made

"A good agent will never ask you for money to sign you," Ivory Coast and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba said, as part of a campaign with the professional footballers' union FIFPRO to sensitize young people to the dangers posed by fake agents. "And genuine clubs don't ask you to pay money to come for a trial. Young Africans must know how to tell fake agents from real agents."

According to a new FIFPRO report, 70% of African footballers surveyed have received unsolicited approaches from people pretending to be agents who promise to help them get opportunities to play abroad. Many of those moves never happen, and when players do travel they are often dumped and left to fend for themselves in unfavorable conditions.

Drogba added that African countries "need to help young African players achieve their dreams at home instead of risking their lives trying to get to Europe by any means."

Desperation has forced many to squander their family's fortunes for a chance at professional football abroad. Some have lost everything.

"We must also talk to the parents and families who sell everything to send their children to Europe," said Geremi Njitap, a former Cameroon international and current FIFPRO Africa president. Jeremy warned that families must realize the danger of sending their children to fake agents where they can fall into the hands of dangerous people smugglers.

Pressure to succeed

It's not just players facing the pitfalls of fake agents though. Olatunji Okuku, founder of the Triple 44 Academy in Ibadan, Nigeria, told DW that there is often pressure on football academies' managers to pay so-called agents to scout their players, thereby contributing to the problem.

"We, the club owners, are also falling into these traps because we are looking for opportunities for our players," Okuku said. He said a fake Swiss agent once made him travel to Europe with a young player in tow, promising to get a contract on his arrival. But a contract never showed up. Instead, he was asked to invest €80,000 euros in a football club in Albania that his players could use as an entry point into Europe with the promise of split future profits.

Okuku turned down the opportunity, returned home to Nigeria and instead built up his academy to an enviable position. "Now real agents come to us and bring all the documentation that has helped five of our players move to Europe without us paying any amount to get them signed," Okuku proudly told DW.

A safer football market

Moving forward, FIFPRO hopes the football agents' business will be cleaned up when FIFA releases its official agents' list in October 2023 that can be easily consulted for registered agents. The organization continues to raise awareness among players about the risks, educate them about how to identify a possible scam, and advise them to contact a player union for assistance.

According to Geremi, the lack of infrastructure in Africa and clubs not paying wages are major reasons why African players are vulnerable to the lures of an opportunity abroad that prove too good to be true: “It is crucial to improve local conditions so young African players can achieve their dreams within their communities.”

And Drogba believes that the responsibility for safety begins with the players. "The best agent you can have is yourself," he said. "The better you perform, the more they want you, and the good agents will find you. You don't need to chase them."

It is advice that Abdrasaq would have hoped he heard earlier and advice that will hopefully prevent others prey falling into the same traps.