The sanctions conclude the FA’s long-running investigation into the club’s conduct during the era of former owner Roman Abramovich, covering the period from 2009 to 2022.

Crucially, the FA confirmed that the current ownership group, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, voluntarily disclosed these historic breaches after completing their takeover of the club in 2022.

An independent Regulatory Commission initially handed down a £10 million fine and a six-point deduction, with the points penalty suspended. Chelsea successfully appealed the sporting sanction, leading an independent Appeal Board to overturn the points deduction.

Instead, the Appeal Board replaced the points penalty with a suspended ban on registering new players for two consecutive transfer windows. This ban, along with the £10 million fine, remains suspended until 30 June 2027. The fine will be reinvested directly into grassroots football programs.

The FA statement clarified the nature of the violations, stating: “A financial sanction of £10 million and a suspended two-window registration ban have been imposed on Chelsea FC for breaches of The Football Association Football Agent Regulations, Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and Third Party Investment in Players Regulations.”

It further added: “The FA charged Chelsea FC with 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 after its current ownership self-reported misconduct upon its purchase of the club. The FA is continuing to investigate individual misconduct arising out of this case.”

Documents from the regulatory commission revealed that Chelsea admitted to making £47 million in undisclosed payments to unregistered agents and third parties related to player transfers between 2011 and 2018.

While the initial financial penalty was assessed at £26 million, the commission significantly reduced it due to Chelsea’s self-reporting and “exceptional and unprecedented nature” of its cooperation. The fine was further reduced to £11.4 million following an early guilty plea, and finally settled at £10 million to account for related penalties already issued by UEFA and the Premier League.

The FA deemed the final punishment “an appropriate penalty” designed to act as a deterrent and maintain the integrity of the sport. The regulatory commission explicitly noted that without the club’s self-reporting, the breaches were unlikely to have ever been discovered.

Chelsea issued a statement welcoming the conclusion of the investigation, which now closes all regulatory proceedings against the club. “We are grateful to Uefa, the Premier League and the FA for their engagement with the club throughout these processes,” the club stated.

This latest disciplinary action follows a separate case in March, where Chelsea received a fine and an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban for breaches involving the registration of youth players between 2019 and 2022.

The newly appointed leaders are:

• Dr. Folorunsho Rasheed Oloyede for the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure.

• Dr. Salisu Salisu for the Federal College of Agriculture and Produce Technology, Kano.

• Dr. Umar Umar Abdullahi for the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin Kowa, Gombe State.

During the presentation of the appointment letters, the Executive Secretary of ARCN, Dr. Adamu Abubakar Dabban, congratulated the new provosts and outlined their mandate. He charged them to align their leadership with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader food security agenda by transforming their respective institutions into hubs of excellence for agricultural education and innovation.

Dr. Dabban further emphasized the need for the provosts to demonstrate high levels of professionalism, diligence, and integrity while implementing reforms to enhance governance and institutional performance.

His specific directives included prioritizing the strengthening of research capacity, fostering collaboration with key industry stakeholders, improving staff welfare, and actively advancing Nigeria’s National Agricultural Research System.

The ARCN Executive Secretary expressed confidence that these strategic appointments would reposition the colleges to make substantial contributions to agricultural development, food security, and overall national economic growth.