AMLA published its draft guidelines on ongoing monitoring of business relationships on 3 June 2026. Football clubs and agents are in scope. The consultation closes on 3 September 2026. Final guidelines are expected in Q4 2026. The window to understand what is coming, and to respond, is open now. Here is what the consultation paper actually requires, and why it matters for professional football.

Football club AML compliance is no longer a choice. From 10 July 2029, EU Regulation 2024/1624 -- the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation -- formally brings professional football clubs and football agents inside the same regulatory perimeter as banks and payment institutions. Customer due diligence, sanctions screening, beneficial ownership analysis, suspicious-activity reporting, and a board-approved governance framework become legal requirements. Most clubs have none of this in place. The window to build it properly is now, not 2028.

This morning, the Financial Conduct Authority -- the UK's statutory regulator of financial services firms and markets -- wrote to every Premier League club and the wider professional football community warning that sponsorship deals with unauthorised financial firms expose clubs to legal liability, money laundering risk and serious reputational damage. The letter names no specific clubs. The press coverage that followed named several. Every club in the English pyramid needs to read this carefully.