Below the top division, football does not buy players. It finds them.
In the third tier and below, only seven in a thousand players arriving from another league have a transfer fee on record. The hard part is rarely the fee. It is the club with the shirt and the agent with the player finding each other. On FTBL Exchange the club posts the position, agents answer with the players they represent, and nobody pays anything.
Source: FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26. Arrivals from another league with the previous league on record, loan returns excluded. Counts only fees recorded with an amount, so it is a minimum.
No card. No paid tier, no commission, no advertising.
Signing up takes a couple of minutes. A person checks every account before it goes live.
WHAT FIFA RECORDED IN 2025
of men's professional international transfers in 2025 carried no transfer fee.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 7). FIFA reports a record 17.7% with a fee.
were players whose contracts had ended. Those moves carried 0.8% of all fee money.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 10).
of the contracts signed in those transfers ran twelve months or less.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 18). Loans excluded.
Post the position. Agents propose the player.
You post the request. You only see proposals for it.
Post the position.
Say what you need once: the position, the salary and whether it is net or gross, the contract length, any transfer fee, and whether bonuses, housing, an allowance and flights are included. Add the rules that matter, such as an age band, a passport, a minimum level or minutes. Your club is never named.
Agents propose against it.
Agents see your rules, and whether their player meets them, before they propose. They state each player's minimum wage, and you only see whether it fits your budget. Anyone who misses a must-have is shown to you separately, with the rule he misses.
You choose who to talk to.
Every applicant is placed against your request, with a verdict where we hold his match data. Shortlist or pass with a reason. Tap to get the agent's WhatsApp number, or message him here.
Clubs post requests, and so do agents working for a club. Players can apply to open requests themselves, with or without an agent.
We went and counted. This is what the market below the top division actually does.
Three seasons of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26: the senior arrivals in our archive that came from another senior league with the previous league on record, grouped by the division the player joined. The method is published in full, so you can check it.
- First division17.5%
- Second division4.5%
- Third tier and below0.7%
Method: senior arrivals from another senior league with the previous league on record, Transfermarkt, 2023/24 to 2025/26, loan returns excluded. Only fees recorded with an amount count, so each figure is a minimum.
Source: FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26.
of those arrivals, across all three tiers, came on a free transfer. Signing a player usually means finding one who is free to move, not buying one.
Source: FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26, same method.
of a typical league's arrivals came from just three source leagues. Clubs sign from the places their people already know, and a player outside those routes is easy to miss.
Source: FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26. The median across leagues with 50 or more such arrivals.
Our first-division figure, 17.5 per cent, is consistent in size with FIFA's 17.7 per cent for international transfers in 2025. The two count different moves, so treat it as a cross-check, not a match.
Sources: FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26. FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 7).
The deal is worth doing. Finding it is what costs too much.
Most moves below the top tier carry no transfer fee, so an agent is usually paid a small share of the player's wages, more often by the club on the player's behalf than by the player himself.
The median player who moved between countries in 2025 signed for just under USD 29,000 a year in fixed pay.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 19). Loans excluded.
A small share of that is a real fee for real work. It does not pay for a subscription, or a flight for every lead. So the deal is worth doing, but only if finding it costs next to nothing.
Finding it is the problem. To place a player, an agent has to know which club needs that position, at that level, this month. To find one, a club has to know an agent who happens to have him. Both are phone calls to people you already know, and everyone's list is short.
In 2025 a player's agent was declared in only 15.3 per cent of international transfers, and FIFA finds that agents are involved more often the higher the player's salary.
Source: FIFA Football Agents Report 2025, published December 2025 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 21).
Clubs below the top tier are not set up for the search either. Italy's national licence for 2026/27 asks Serie B clubs for a sporting director but not a scout, and Denmark's 1st Division licence asks for neither.
Sources: FIGC, Manuale Licenze Nazionali 2026/2027 (opens in a new tab). Divisionsforeningen, Klublicensmanual 1. division 2026/2027 (opens in a new tab).
Recruitment usually rests on one or two people, often alongside coaching or video work.
So good players sit available while clubs that would take them never hear the name. Not because anyone was priced out, but because the two sides were never in the same room.
Built for all three sides of the market.
You should not need an agent to be seen.
Paste your Transfermarkt link and a highlights video. Once we approve it, your profile builds itself from your record, and you can send one link to any club or agent, with or without representation.
- Career, minutes, contract and market value pulled from the sources, not typed in
- Add video, bio, languages and when you are available
- Open any request and see whether you meet its rules before you apply
- Every request has to state the salary, net or gross, and the contract length
Of the international trials FIFA recorded in 2025, more than eight in ten involved a player aged 18 or under, and players over 25 made up a little over 2 per cent. Past that age, a record a club can check counts for more than a trial.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 17). Trials in men's and women's football.
Build your profileSee what clubs need before you propose.
Placing a player depends on knowing which club needs what, right now. A request puts it in writing: the position, the level, the salary and the terms, before you pick up the phone. Propose the players you represent against it, and the club sees exactly what it asked for.
- See the positions clubs are recruiting for, with the salary, net or gross, and the terms already written down
- See the club's rules, and whether each of your players meets them, before you propose
- Get an email when a request goes live that fits one of your players
- On a request you did not post, you see only your own proposals, and every proposal is recorded against the request with who made it and when
Free. No subscription, no fee per player, and no cut of any deal you do. Below the top, an agent's fee is usually a small share of a modest wage, and a tool that charges before anything happens does not fit that work.
In 2025 about one in six licensed agents acted for a player in an international transfer.
Source: FIFA Football Agents Report 2025, published December 2025 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 21).
Register free to see live requestsYou post the request. You only see proposals for it.
Below the top tier, recruitment usually rests on one or two people with much of a squad to replace every year. Post the position once, with the money and the terms, and agents come to you with players who answer it. It works alongside whatever you already use.
- Post the position, the salary net or gross, the contract length and any fee, once
- Your club is never named. Agents see the country, the league and what you need
- Set your must-haves. Anyone who misses one is shown separately, with the rule he misses, so you can pass in one tap
- See whether a player's wage fits your budget, never the wage itself
Every applicant is placed against your request. Where we hold his match data you get a verdict, Ready to start, Could do a job, Long shot or Can't judge yet, with the working behind it. Where we do not, we say so. Big numbers in a weaker league cannot make a player Ready to start.
Post a request
Example dashboard. Every person, club and figure in it is invented.
Clubs post what they need. Agents answer with the players they represent.
This is what a request looks like. Every request has to state the salary, whether it is net or gross, and the contract length. It can add an age band, a passport rule, a minimum level and, for strikers, full backs and wingers, a playing style. The club is never named, and anyone who misses a must-have is shown to the club separately, with the rule he misses.
- Spain, LaLigaStrikerPlaying style: Pressing ForwardPassport: EU/EEA/Swiss
- AGE
- 18 to 29
- SALARY
- €25K/mo net
- TRANSFER
- Free transfer
- LENGTH
- 2 yrs
- Saudi Arabia, First DivisionCentre backBonuses + housingLevel 66 or above
- AGE
- 23 to 30
- SALARY
- €28K/mo net
- TRANSFER
- Fee up to €400K
- LENGTH
- 2 yrs
- Japan, J2 LeagueAttacking midfielderAny passportBonuses included
- AGE
- under 27
- SALARY
- €12K/mo gross
- TRANSFER
- Free transfer
- LENGTH
- 1 yr
- Germany, 2. BundesligaLeft backPlaying style: Overlapping CrosserPassport: EU/EEA/Swiss
- AGE
- under 26
- SALARY
- €25K/mo gross
- TRANSFER
- Fee up to €500K
- LENGTH
- 3 yrs
- Italy, Serie BGoalkeeperPassport: EU/EEA/SwissMinutes: 1,500+ last season
- AGE
- 24 to 32
- SALARY
- €18K/mo net
- TRANSFER
- Loan or permanent
- LENGTH
- 1 yr
Example requests, for illustration only. The live board opens once your account is approved.
Register free to see live requestsWhat makes us different
| What changes | WITHOUT A PLATFORM Ringing round | WITH A PAID PLATFORM A members' marketplace | FTBL EXCHANGE A posted request |
|---|---|---|---|
| The players you can choose from | The players your contacts happen to know | Players their clubs offer, and players whose agent pays to list them, every window | Any player with a Transfermarkt profile, listed free by himself or by his agent |
| What you get on each player | A Transfermarkt link, a PDF or a clip, whatever the agent sends | The agent's pitch, with statistics and valuations sold as data products | A CV built from his Transfermarkt record: career, minutes, contract and market value, plus his video and his agent where he has them, checked by a person before it goes live |
| What his numbers mean | Whatever the agent tells you | Depends on the data products you buy | A 30-second read and a scouting report in plain words, written from his Wyscout record once it has been added |
| Who sees the position | The people already in your phone | Paying members only. Agents are admitted selectively | Every approved agent and player. Agents with a player who fits are emailed |
| Can a player put himself forward | Only through his own contacts | No. Players cannot apply to requests; an agent or his club has to put him forward | Yes. A player can apply to an open request, with or without an agent |
| What the agent knows first | A position, if someone passed it on | The requirement, including the budget | The position, the salary net or gross, the contract length, any fee, and your rules |
| What reaches you | Names and links across WhatsApp and email | Pitches on the platform | Proposals against the request, in one place and one daily email |
| Who put the player forward | Easy to dispute | The platform says it stops other agents pitching your players | Recorded against the request, with a name and a time |
| Market data and events | None | Budgets, salary benchmarks, valuations and in-person summits | Only the Transfermarkt market value on each CV. Use it alongside the tools you already pay for |
| Cost | Your time | Agents pay €2,000 to €5,000 for each player they list, every window. Clubs pay a yearly subscription, reported at €10,000 to €60,000 | Free. No paid tier, no commission, no advertising |
The players you can choose from
- Ringing round
- The players your contacts happen to know
- Paid marketplace
- Players their clubs offer, and players whose agent pays to list them, every window
- FTBL Exchange
- Any player with a Transfermarkt profile, listed free by himself or by his agent
What you get on each player
- Ringing round
- A Transfermarkt link, a PDF or a clip, whatever the agent sends
- Paid marketplace
- The agent's pitch, with statistics and valuations sold as data products
- FTBL Exchange
- A CV built from his Transfermarkt record: career, minutes, contract and market value, plus his video and his agent where he has them, checked by a person before it goes live
What his numbers mean
- Ringing round
- Whatever the agent tells you
- Paid marketplace
- Depends on the data products you buy
- FTBL Exchange
- A 30-second read and a scouting report in plain words, written from his Wyscout record once it has been added
Who sees the position
- Ringing round
- The people already in your phone
- Paid marketplace
- Paying members only. Agents are admitted selectively
- FTBL Exchange
- Every approved agent and player. Agents with a player who fits are emailed
Can a player put himself forward
- Ringing round
- Only through his own contacts
- Paid marketplace
- No. Players cannot apply to requests; an agent or his club has to put him forward
- FTBL Exchange
- Yes. A player can apply to an open request, with or without an agent
What the agent knows first
- Ringing round
- A position, if someone passed it on
- Paid marketplace
- The requirement, including the budget
- FTBL Exchange
- The position, the salary net or gross, the contract length, any fee, and your rules
What reaches you
- Ringing round
- Names and links across WhatsApp and email
- Paid marketplace
- Pitches on the platform
- FTBL Exchange
- Proposals against the request, in one place and one daily email
Who put the player forward
- Ringing round
- Easy to dispute
- Paid marketplace
- The platform says it stops other agents pitching your players
- FTBL Exchange
- Recorded against the request, with a name and a time
Market data and events
- Ringing round
- None
- Paid marketplace
- Budgets, salary benchmarks, valuations and in-person summits
- FTBL Exchange
- Only the Transfermarkt market value on each CV. Use it alongside the tools you already pay for
Cost
- Ringing round
- Your time
- Paid marketplace
- Agents pay €2,000 to €5,000 for each player they list, every window. Clubs pay a yearly subscription, reported at €10,000 to €60,000
- FTBL Exchange
- Free. No paid tier, no commission, no advertising
Prices: the members' marketplace does not publish them. Agent prices are those quoted to agents; the club range is as reported by Il Post in February 2025.
We are not trying to replace anything at the top. There, clubs recruit with departments, data and fees. Below it, much of a squad is replaced every year by one or two people, mostly with players who cost nothing, against a budget that has to last the season. Nothing here replaces the tools you already pay for, so use it alongside them. No platform can promise a player a move. What a request can do is put the need in front of the people who can answer it, at no cost to anyone.
There are two transfer markets. Most clubs are in the second one.
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 7).
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 9).
Source: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (full report (opens in a new tab), p. 19). Loans excluded.
Source: CIES Football Observatory, Monthly Report 89, November 2023 (opens in a new tab).
The fee market is small and concentrated. Fewer than a quarter of the clubs active in international transfers paid any fee at all, and a small number of very large deals took nearly half the money. That is the market the headlines cover.
The other market is where most clubs live. They replace much of a squad every year, mostly with players who are out of contract, on short deals, at modest wages. In that market nobody is outbid. The player goes to the club that knew about him.
Our own count says the same from the other direction: below the second division, a transfer fee almost never appears on the record.
Paid tools earn their cost at the top, where the fees are. Below it, a channel has to cost nothing, or the people it needs to reach stay out.
Nobody is being outbid. They are being out-networked.
Sources: FIFA Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026 (opens in a new tab). CIES Football Observatory, Monthly Report 89, November 2023 (opens in a new tab). FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26.
What we check, and what stays private.
Checked by a person
A person checks every account, and every player an agent adds, before it goes live. Every agent is shown as an Intermediary, a Scout or a FIFA Licensed Agent. A FIFA Licensed Agent gets that label and a verified tick only once we have matched his licence number on FIFA's public register, and is shown as FIFA licence pending check until then.
Contact on your terms
Unless it is your own, a WhatsApp number on a player's profile or a proposal is shown only on a tap, and every reveal is recorded. You can also message here. Only the poster and our admins see the proposals on a request.
Your club stays private
Your club is never named on a request. Clubs see whether a player's wage fits the budget, never the wage itself.
Nothing to pay
No paid tier, no commission, no advertising, no card. Most moves below the top tier carry no fee, so a charge for access would keep out many of the people a request needs to reach.
How recruitment actually works below the elite.
Free to read, no signup. Every guide names its sources.
Questions
What is FTBL Exchange?
A free football recruitment platform for players, agents and clubs. Clubs, and agents working for a club, post requests for the positions they need to fill. Agents propose the players they represent, players can apply themselves, and the club reviews every proposal against its request.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no paid tier, no commission on any deal and no advertising, and you do not need a card to sign up. FTBL Exchange is built and run by Agency Four.
Do I have to stop using the tools I already pay for?
No. FTBL Exchange works alongside them. A request is one more way to reach agents, and it costs nothing.
Can agents see which club posted a request?
No. Your club is never named on a request. Agents see the country, the league and what you need. Only you and our admins see the club.
Do clubs see a player's wage?
No. When an agent proposes a player he states the player's minimum wage, and the club sees only whether it fits the request's budget, never the figure. If the player wants more than the offer, the agent has to confirm he will take the club's figure before the proposal goes through.
Can a player who misses a club's rules still be proposed?
Yes. Agents see the rules, and whether their player meets them, before they propose. A player who misses a must-have reaches the club in a separate group, with the rule he misses named, so the club can pass in one tap.
Where does the player data come from?
Transfermarkt supplies identity, career history, contract and market value. Sofascore supplies recent form, and FotMob supplies scouting statistics. Those three are read from a single Transfermarkt link. Wyscout data is added when an export has been uploaded.
Can an agent edit a player's statistics?
Not by typing. Players and agents add the bio, video, languages, availability and contact details. Career history, appearances, minutes, contract and market value are pulled from the sources, and only our admins can correct a wrong pull. Wyscout statistics come from an uploaded Wyscout export, which an admin or the player's agent can add.
Do players need a Transfermarkt profile?
Yes. The profile is built from it, so a player needs a Transfermarkt page and a highlights video to sign up. If Transfermarkt covers your league thinly, your profile will be thin too. Agents and clubs do not need one.
How long does it take to set up?
Signing up takes a couple of minutes. A person checks every account, and every player an agent adds, before it goes live. Once a player is approved, his profile builds itself.
How are agents identified?
Every account is checked by a person, and every agent is shown to clubs as an Intermediary (who works on players' moves without a FIFA licence), a Scout or a FIFA Licensed Agent. An agent who registers as a FIFA Licensed Agent is shown as FIFA licence pending check until we have matched his licence number on FIFA's public register, and then as a FIFA Licensed Agent, with a verified tick.
Who runs FTBL Exchange?
It is built and operated by Agency Four.
Sources
- FIFA, Global Transfer Report 2025, published January 2026. Release (opens in a new tab) · Full report (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA, Football Agents Report 2025, published December 2025. Release (opens in a new tab) · Full report (opens in a new tab)
- CIES Football Observatory, Monthly Report 89, November 2023. Report (opens in a new tab)
- FIGC, Manuale Licenze Nazionali 2026/2027. Manual (opens in a new tab)
- Divisionsforeningen, Klublicensmanual 1. division 2026/2027. Manual (opens in a new tab)
- FTBL Exchange analysis of Transfermarkt records, 2023/24 to 2025/26. Method and full results