Premier League
Dowman Rejects Major Agencies As Family Becomes FIFA-Licensed Representatives
Max Dowman’s father and brother have secured official FIFA agent licences, allowing the family to oversee his career for the foreseeable future.
Despite receiving numerous approaches from external agents since Dowman made his debut for Arsenal as a 15-year-old last August, there are currently no plans to partner with a major representation agency.
Max Dowman signed a pre-contract with Arsenal in January, which will automatically become his first professional deal when he turns 17 on 31 December. The agreements were negotiated by the legal firm Onside Law, specialising in sports, media, and entertainment.
His father Rob and brother Ethan, both licensed agents, are also authorised to represent him in future negotiations.
There has been a growing trend of top players being represented by family members since FIFA deregulated its agent licensing system a decade ago, but the Dowmans appear better qualified than most.
Rob Dowman, in addition to being a grassroots coach, is the founder and chief executive of the insurance company Pantheon Speciality, and his elder son Ethan works as a broker having obtained an economics degree from Nottingham University.
Both are believed to have secured their FIFA agent licences after passing the exams introduced in 2003, which saw just 52% of candidates succeed in the first round. Max Dowman’s immediate focus remains on his development at Arsenal and achieving strong GCSE results this summer.
While he has already signed a boot deal with Adidas and featured in an advert with Ian Wright, the family is in no hurry to pursue further commercial partnerships.
