New rules for footballers' agents

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Plans announced by the Football Association to monitor players' agents more closely are to come into effect.

The changes, which come into force on Saturday, will stop agents representing both club and player in a deal, and make it easier to trace payments.

There will be a blanket ban on agents owning a stake in the players they are responsible for advising.

The rule will come in following the protracted transfer of Carlos Tevez from West Ham to Manchester United.

There will also be new rules to outlaw nepotism in the transfer business.

The FA is bringing in the rules to try to establish a clear set of guidelines that make the roles of all those involved in player transfers more transparent.

Ownership question

BBC sports correspondent Adam Parsons says the new regulations are designed to show that football's administrators have some teeth and that they are prepared to confront the issues which have affected the sport's reputation.

The aim is to do something and to be seen to be doing something but the challenge is to enforce the controls, he added.

Earlier this month, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore promised a tightening of the league's rules to prevent a repeat of the Carlos Tevez affair.

There were questions surrounding the Argentina striker's ownership and eligibility when he was at West Ham.

In June, former Met Police chief Lord Stevens' final report into alleged transfer irregularities named 17 transfers and five Premier League clubs.

But he said there was no evidence of irregular payments to club officials or players.