On 17 January, the European Parliament concluded an agreement with the Council of the EU on new measures aimed at strengthening the EU's toolkit in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion. The provisional agreement acknowledges the high-risk nature of the football sector, expanding the list of obligated entities to include professional football clubs and agents. The rules, effective after a longer transition period of five years (compared to three for other entities), mandate professional football clubs to verify customer identity, monitor transactions, and report suspicious activities to Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) from 2029. Member States apply flexibility, such as for less risky transactions, football clubs below the top league, and those with an annual turnover less than 5 million euros over two years. The adopted rules, namely the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive and the EU “single rulebook” regulation , are part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package. The texts must now undergo formal adoption by both the Council and the Parliament before entering into force.