According to a recent Tom Bogert tweet, Boavista FC, a team in the Portuguese top flight, has failed to pay three clubs, two in MLS, for players they signed. These three players are Reggie Cannon (Dallas), Alberth Elis (Houston), and Róbert Boženík (Feyenoord). 

For many fans on Twitter/X, this has come as a shock. All three of these players moved from their clubs to Boavista years ago, and Elis and Cannon have been at multiple clubs now since those deals were struck.

How could a club simply not pay the fee they agreed to and for nobody to care until several years later?

To make matters worse, Real Salt Lake, who were trying to buy Boženík, were unable to do so from Boavista. Boženík was already in Real Salt Lake to complete the deal, so the fact that the agreement collapsed must have come as a shock for both Salt Lake and Boženík. 

Boavista are currently last in the Portuguese top flight, and one can see why. On TransferMarkt, their total player value is less than 20 million euros, and from the looks of it, they’re not in a financial position to field a competitive team. 

According to a source familiar with this topic, this type of behavior is abnormal and borderline unethical from a club perspective.

In my opinion, FIFA has to step in and force Boavista FC to pay back the clubs they “bought” players from if the reports are true. Keep in mind, these three players are the only ones we know of… What if Boavista are repeat offenders?

No matter how you slice it, this type of business isn’t good for the sport, but especially for a league like MLS, where player sales increase revenue and allow these clubs to progressively get better, increasing the level of soccer in the United States in the process. 

According to Futbol Centro America, FIFA could in fact levy sanctions, which would almost certainly include a transfer ban and a mandatory order to pay back the clubs involved in this mess. This type of mismanagement shouldn’t be allowed, and if the allegations are true, Boavista should be in big trouble.