How the exam works

Module 0: Orientation · lesson 2 of 4 · 10 min

Module 0: Orientation

Lesson two is the exam itself: how long you have, how it’s marked, what you may use and what you may not, and what happens on the day. Every rule here comes from FIFA’s Football Agent Exam Rules, in force since 20 January 2026. Break one, and you lose the attempt.

The clock

3 min Per question: twenty questions in sixty minutes

No extra time is given and no exam is restarted. There are no breaks, not even for the toilet: leaving counts as withdrawing. Bank time on the questions you know.

Transcript

Start with the clock. Sixty minutes for twenty questions gives you three minutes a question, on average. No extra time is given, except as a medical accommodation FIFA has approved in advance, and no exam is restarted for any reason. There are no breaks of any kind (FIFA says not even toilet breaks), and taking one counts as withdrawing from the exam. So the strategy is simple: answer the ones you know quickly, and bank the time for the ones you have to look up.

One or more answers can be right

A question may have one correct option or several. The pass mark is 75%.

You score only by selecting every correct option. A partly correct answer scores nothing: there are no half marks.

A blank also scores nothing, the same as a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.

Transcript

Now the marking, which catches out many candidates. Some questions have one correct option; some have several. You only score if you select all of the correct options. Get some of them, or add a wrong one, and your answer is not fully correct, so it scores nothing. There are no half marks. And because a blank scores zero, exactly like a wrong answer, there is never a reason to leave a question empty.

Scoring a multiple-answer question

A question has four options, and B and D are both correct. Ana selects B only. Ben selects B, C and D. Chloé selects B and D. Dev leaves it blank.

How to reason it

  1. Ana found one correct option but not both, so her answer is only partly correct.
  2. Ben found both correct options but added a wrong one, so his answer is not fully correct either.
  3. Chloé selected every correct option and nothing else.
  4. Blank, partly correct and wrong answers all score zero.

Answer: Only Chloé scores the mark. Ana, Ben and Dev all score nothing.

Transcript

Let’s mark one. Options B and D are both correct. Ana picks B only: half right, which scores nothing. Ben picks B, C and D: he found both right answers but added a wrong one, so his answer isn’t fully correct, and again scores nothing. Chloé picks exactly B and D and scores the full mark. Dev leaves it blank and scores nothing. The lesson: read every option on its own merits, and select all the ones that are true.

Open book, but only FIFA’s book

Allowed

  • The study materials, on screen in the exam interface
  • The unofficial translator tool, at your own risk
  • A blank sheet and a pen, destroyed afterwards
  • Prescription glasses, a non-alcoholic drink, approved medical aids

Not allowed

  • Printed study materials
  • Your own notes, summaries or dictionaries
  • A second screen, other software or other websites
  • Anyone else in the room
Transcript

The exam is open book, but only FIFA’s book. You may consult the official study materials electronically, inside the exam interface, along with an unofficial translator tool, which you use at your own risk. You may have a blank sheet and a pen, which you destroy afterwards, plus prescription glasses, a non-alcoholic drink and approved medical aids. You may not bring printed materials, your own notes or summaries (including the cheat sheets from this course), a second screen, other software or websites, or another person. Revise with your notes; sit the exam without them.

Your room and your devices

  • A room to yourself: no one else may be present, even another candidate
  • Your own laptop or desktop, with a working camera and microphone
  • A smartphone as a second camera, showing you and the room
  • The mandatory readiness check, done on the same devices, connection and room
  • The original photo ID you used in your application
  • A stable connection and a charger: FIFA can’t help with either
Transcript

Your set-up has to pass the invigilator’s checks, or you won’t sit the exam at all and your application is rejected. You need a room to yourself: no one else may be present, not even another candidate. Your own laptop or desktop with a camera and microphone. A smartphone, placed to one side, as a second camera. The Safe Exam Browser, installed in advance, and a completed readiness check on the same set-up. The original photo ID from your application. And a stable connection and a charger. FIFA says local problems are yours alone.

Exam day

  1. Readiness check. Mandatory. Complete it in FIFA’s period, on the devices, connection and room you’ll use.
  2. Pre-exam checks. The invigilator checks your ID, your devices and your room.
  3. Sixty minutes. Follow the invigilator’s instructions. No extra time, and no restarts.
  4. Results. On the Platform and by email, within 30 days of the last session.
  5. Review. If you fail, you can review your attempt for three days.
Transcript

Here is the day itself. Beforehand, you must complete FIFA’s readiness check, a practice attempt on the same devices, connection and room. Miss it and you are denied admission. On the day, the invigilator checks your identity, your devices and your room before you start. Then follow the invigilator’s instructions: there is no extra time, and no exam is restarted. Results come on the Platform and by email within thirty days of the last exam session. And if you fail, you can review your attempt for up to three days.

Breaking a rule costs a year

A breach of the rules of conduct gets your attempt cancelled and, as FIFA’s 2025 decisions show, your application rejected.

You are also barred from the next exam window. With one window a year, you lose a year.

Arriving late also gets your application rejected.

Transcript

Finally, the stakes. A candidate who breaches the rules of conduct (talking to someone, recording the screen, opening another website) has the attempt cancelled, and in FIFA’s 2025 decisions the application was rejected too. They are also barred from the next exam window, and with one window a year, that means losing a year. The invigilator’s decision is final, with no right of appeal. Arriving late also gets your application rejected. In 2025, fifty-nine applications were rejected for breaching the exam rules of conduct.

Check your understanding

Question 1. A question’s correct options are A and C. Which response scores the mark?

Choose one answer.

Question 2. Which of these may you use during the exam?

Choose every correct answer.