The FIFA International Player Transfer Guide, July 2024 edition, serves as a comprehensive resource detailing the procedural and regulatory aspects of international player transfers. This guide is instrumental for clubs, associations, and stakeholders involved in the international football transfer market, ensuring compliance with FIFA regulations. It offers practical information and best practices to prepare for processing international player transfers while adhering to the regulatory and technical requirements set by FIFA.
Scope and Importance of TMS
Transfer Matching System (TMS): Central to the international transfer process, TMS is mandatory for all international transfers involving male, female, amateur, professional, and minor players in 11-a-side football. Introduced to streamline the transfer process, TMS ensures the accuracy of data entry and adherence to regulatory frameworks, fostering transparency and integrity in transfers. Its universal application across different types of players emphasizes its importance in the global football landscape.
TMS is not just a tool but a regulatory requirement. Clubs must use it for entering details of player transfers, ensuring that all data is correct and all necessary documents are uploaded. This system helps in maintaining a transparent and efficient transfer market, which is crucial for the credibility of international football.
Key Sections of the Guide
International Transfers – Scope of TMS:
- Definition: The guide differentiates between international and national transfers. An international transfer involves moving a player's registration from one national association to another, while a national transfer involves moving a player's registration within the same association. This distinction is crucial as it determines the set of regulations that apply.
- Mandatory Use: TMS is required for all international transfers, governed by the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). Clubs must correctly enter information and select the appropriate transfer instruction type to ensure compliance and facilitate seamless transactions. Essential Questions: Before initiating a transfer, clubs must consider:
- Is the player being engaged or released?
- Will the player be a professional or an amateur at the new club?
- When will the registration period of the new association open?
- Is it a permanent transfer or a loan?
- Are any club-to-club payments involved?
- Does my club and the counter club have a TMS account? Addressing these questions ensures clarity and accuracy in the transfer instructions, streamlining the process for all parties involved.
Proof of Payment and the FIFA Clearing House:
- Accuracy: Clubs must enter precise payment information in TMS, crucial for the FIFA Clearing House's operations. The Clearing House is an integral part of FIFA's efforts to promote financial transparency and integrity in football transfers.
- Training Rewards: Proper documentation ensures accurate calculation and distribution of training rewards. Clubs are obliged to declare payments in TMS and upload the relevant proofs of payment within 30 days of each payment date. This is essential for the correct calculation of solidarity contributions and training compensation. Declaration of Payments:
- Full amount of payments agreed between clubs must be declared.
- Payments should be made while withholding 5% for solidarity contribution.
- Remaining balances, if any, should be paid directly following the solidarity contribution process.
International Transfers of Minor Players:
- FIFA Approval: All international transfers involving minors require FIFA's approval, ensuring their protection and compliance with Article 19 of the RSTP. This includes a detailed application process in TMS, ensuring all regulatory requirements are met to safeguard the interests of young players. Key Steps:
- Submission of a minor application to FIFA.
- Request for an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) once approval is granted. This dual process ensures that minor players are transferred with the utmost care and legal compliance, preventing exploitation and ensuring their welfare.
Loan Transfers:
- Regulations: Loans are subject to the same regulations as permanent transfers, including the ITC procedure and adherence to loan caps. The guide outlines the rules on the maximum duration of loans and the permissible number of loans a club can engage in or release.
- Caps and Duration: From July 2024, a maximum of six players can be loaned in or out per club, with a one-year maximum duration for loans. This regulation aims to maintain competitive balance and prevent clubs from stockpiling players. Loan Caps:
- General Loan Cap: A club can loan out or in a maximum of six players.
- Club-to-Club Loan Cap: A maximum of three players can be loaned between the same clubs. Ensuring compliance with these caps is critical, as violations will result in the transfer being halted by a validation exception in TMS.
Registration Periods and Deadline Day:
- Compliance: Transfers must occur within designated registration periods to ensure compliance with Article 6 of the RSTP. Each FIFA member association is required to define two official registration periods for each season of professional football, which are entered in TMS.
- Planning: Early planning and preparation are encouraged to avoid last-minute issues and ensure smooth transfers. The guide stresses the importance of being aware of global registration periods to effectively plan transfer and contractual arrangements. Key Points:
- Registration periods enhance contractual stability and protect the integrity of competitions.
- Clubs must ensure ITC requests are made within these periods to avoid delays.
Registration Bans:
- Impact: Clubs under a registration ban cannot complete new incoming transfers in TMS. However, they can release players or engage in certain types of transactions that do not contravene the ban, such as returning from loan or extending a loan.
- Exceptions: Scenarios that do not contravene a registration ban include:
- Return from loan where the loan agreement expires naturally.
- Extension of a loan beyond its natural expiry.
- Registration of a player as an amateur directly before the ban was imposed.
- A club under a registration ban must ensure all requirements are met for the ban to be lifted.
- Registration bans are reflected in TMS and must also be implemented at the national level.
Validation Exceptions and FIFA Intervention:
- Resolution: FIFA can override validation exceptions in exceptional cases, ensuring transfers proceed smoothly when regulatory conditions are met. This includes scenarios like ITC requests made outside registration periods or disputes over ITC rejections.
- Process: The new association must submit a request for FIFA to override the validation exception via TMS. This request must demonstrate that the delay or issue was not attributable to the engaging party. Key Scenarios:
- Engaging club entered and approved its transfer instruction and uploaded all mandatory documents correctly before the registration period ended.
- The new association requested the ITC after the registration period closed but through no fault of its own or that of its affiliated club.
Conclusion
The FIFA International Player Transfer Guide is an essential tool for ensuring the smooth and compliant transfer of players across international borders. It emphasizes the importance of accurate data entry, adherence to regulatory frameworks, and meticulous planning to facilitate the global movement of football talent. By following the guidelines and best practices outlined in the guide, clubs and associations can navigate the complexities of international transfers effectively, fostering a transparent and fair football transfer system.
For further details and specific guidelines, stakeholders are encouraged to consult the full guide and relevant sections of the RSTP and FCHR. For additional support, FIFA's dedicated teams provide regulatory and technical assistance throughout the transfer process, ensuring that all parties involved can manage transfers efficiently and in compliance with FIFA regulations.
