FIFA Circular no. 1839 Zurich - Amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
TO THE MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS OF FIFA
Circular no. 1839 Zurich, 31 March 2023
Amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players concerning registration periods (“transfer windows”) and the entry into force of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, as well as amendments to the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are pleased to inform you of several amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), as well as to the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal (Procedural Rules) which were approved by the FIFA Council at its meeting on 14 March 2023. The following paragraphs set out the amendments to the FIFA regulatory framework for your information.
Amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
The amendments to the RSTP concern:
- the Third Reform Package – registration periods (transfer windows); and
- (b) the entry into force of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations.
a)Third Reform Package – registration periods (transfer windows)
Modernising the football regulatory framework has been one of FIFA’s key pillars since the launch of FIFA 2.0 and is the first objective of The Vision 2020-2023.
The wholescale review of the modern football transfer system – the first of its kind since it was established in 2001 – has already led to many important reforms and achievements, all of which have been discussed, developed and agreed upon in close cooperation with all football stakeholders. Two large reform packages have already been successfully concluded and a third is close to being fully implemented, with important amendments concerning the international transfer of minors already having been adopted by the FIFA Council on 22 October 2022.
The amendments and additions to the RSTP in respect to registration periods (transfer windows) and ensuring increased protection for unemployed football players, reflect the general principles endorsed by the Football Stakeholders Committee and approved by the FIFA Council on 20 May 2021.
In particular, the relevant amendments concern the definitions of the terms “season” and “competition period”, as well as article 5 paragraph 4; article 6 paragraphs 1, 2, 3 (new), 4 (new), 5 (new), 6 (new), 7 and 8; article 16; article 17 paragraph 4; article 18quater paragraphs 3 and 4; article 26 paragraph 4 (new); article 29; article 8 paragraph 1 k) of Annexe 3 and article 5.1 paragraph 11 of Annexe 6. These latest amendments focus on:
- providing greater flexibility regarding each season’s registration periods, which allows associations to reduce the potential competitive disadvantages that arise from the lack of harmonisation among registration periods;
- redefining the correlation between the following terms: (i) season; (ii) national (league) competition start date; and (iii) the opening and closing of the first registration period of a season, which allows specific national circumstances to be taken into consideration while ensuring a uniform approach across each association; and
- ensuring greater possibilities for unemployed players to be registered outside of registration periods, in accordance with article 6 of the RSTP.
b) Amendments in relation to the entry into force of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations
The relevant amendments are in line with the new FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), which were approved by the FIFA Council on 16 December 2022. The proposed amendments are of a technical nature only and concern the following provisions: definition of the term “FIFA ID”; article 18 paragraph 1; article 2 paragraph 3 of Annexe 2; article 10 paragraphs 5 and 6 of Annexe 3 and article 12 paragraphs 2, 3 (new) and 4 (new) of Annexe 3.
The amendments relate to the following:
- specifications in relation to employment contracts following the provision of football agent services;
- information and documentation to be provided by clubs involved in an international transfer which involves football agent services (Annexe 3); and
- the declaration of payments made in relation to any representation agreement entered into with a football agent (Annexe 3).
Entry into force of the amendments to the RSTP
The amendments in relation to the registration periods will come into force on 1 April 2023 and the amendments in relation to the FFAR will come into force on 1 October 2023.
Amendments to the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal
The amendments to the Procedural Rules concern:
(a) the FIFA Legal Portal;
(b) a minor amendment regarding challenges; and
(c) the entry into force of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations and the Agents Chamber of the Football Tribunal.
a) FIFA Legal Portal
The FIFA Legal Portal is intended to replace the current email communication system and has been in place since the start of the transition phase on 1 May 2022. As a result, the relevant amendments to the Procedural Rules – namely article 10; article 18 paragraph 1; article 21 paragraph 1; article 22 paragraph 1; article 29 paragraph 2 and article 34 paragraph 1 – are aimed at facilitating that claims and proceedings before the FIFA Football Tribunal outside TMS are exclusively initiated through the portal and that correspondence concerning those proceedings are conducted via the portal from 1 May 2023.
Further information on the FIFA Legal Portal and its mandatory use as of 1 May 2023 will be published in due course.
b) Minor amendment regarding challenges
The relevant amendment to article 5 paragraph 3 is aimed at clarifying that a challenge to a member of the Football Tribunal is to be filed within five calendar days from the notification of the composition of the relevant chamber for adjudication.
c) Amendments in relation to the entry into force of the FFAR and the Agents Chamber of the Football Tribunal
The relevant amendments to the definitions section; article 9; article 13 paragraph 4 and article 34 paragraph 2 are in line with the new FFAR. The proposed amendments are of a technical nature only and are aimed at facilitating the operation of the Agents Chamber of the Football Tribunal, which will have jurisdiction to determine disputes arising out of, or in connection with, a representation agreement with an international dimension as of 1 October 2023.
Entry into force of the amendments to the Procedural Rules
The aforementioned amendments will come into force on 1 May 2023 except for the amendments in relation to the entry into force of the FFAR and the Agents Chamber of the Football Tribunal which will come into force on 1 October 2023.
*****
The revised edition of the RSTP and the Procedural Rules, as well as explanatory notes concerning the new provisions in relation to the registration periods are available on legal.fifa.com.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at
Yours faithfully,
Fatma Samoura
Secretary General
cc: - FIFA Council
- Confederations
- FIFPRO
- ECA
- World Leagues Forum
Global Summit 2024