A new era in football. "FIFA" It brings a comprehensive revolution in the transfer system

The changes take effect on January 1, 2027

After the meeting held in Mexico City, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) announced fundamental changes to the status of football players and transfer regulations, which will bring about a comprehensive revolution in the transfer system.

AS newspaper said the decisions were made after two years of negotiations and numerous legal disputes, notably with the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) as well as sports federations and the European Club Association, where France’s Lassana Diarra’s case with FIFA was at the heart of the dispute.

The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced last Monday that it had reached an out-of-court settlement with former France player Lassana Diarra following a legal dispute between them over international transfer regulations.

These regulations, which were originally created in 2001, have undergone a comprehensive review, with the changes coming into effect on January 1, 2027.

The most prominent of these changes include increased player participation in transfer processes and the finalization of contract termination clauses.

5% provision for players

From now on, players will receive 5% of their transfer fees, a system already in place in Spain and now being expanded worldwide.

Football players with a fixed annual salary of less than €150,000 should receive 5% of their fixed transfer fee. Players may partially waive this right, but their percentage may not be less than the following:

A – The fixed salary of the player in the last year of the contract with the club to which he will be transferred.

B – 2.5% of total fixed transfer fees.

In the event of disputes to be resolved by the FIFA Football Tribunal, late payments will be subject to an 8% interest rate.

Criminal conditions

From now on, termination clauses will become a fixed clause in all contracts between players and clubs.

Both sides will be required to include a release clause in the contract, something that already exists in Spain but has been resisted by other federations, and which now guarantees the players’ freedom of movement.

A new law is proposed to allow clubs to offer up to 5-year contracts to players under the age of eighteen (instead of the overall maximum of three years).

These contracts can only be offered if the player is registered with the club for a certain period of time before signing the contract and must meet specific financial conditions. Each club is allowed a limited number of these contracts per season.

A global platform for social dialogue

The global social dialogue platform was created between FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFPro), the Women’s Football Association (WLA) and the English Football Association (EFC).

According to this new mechanism, as a general rule, decisions, recommendations and agreements must be adopted by consensus, i.e. unanimously between the social partners and FIFA. Once this consensus is reached, FIFA will take the necessary steps to implement the agreed results within its regulatory framework.

FIFA may refuse to enforce any agreed outcome unless it can demonstrate that it is manifestly in conflict with its legal obligations, materially breaches its mandatory legal obligations, imposes an excessive financial or operational burden on it, or exposes it to legal risks at its discretion.

In such cases, FIFA will provide evidence-based justification to the social partners. In the absence of this justification, FIFA will continue with the procedures to ratify the agreed changes.

If no consensus is reached, the current regulatory framework will remain in place.

Special business lines for social dialogue platform

The proposed changes set specific directions for the Social Dialogue Platform’s actions, including:

A- Regulation and Transmission System (RSTP)

B – National transfer systems and support for social dialogue

C – Player welfare, occupational health and safety standards and special provisions relating to pregnancy, adoption and family leave.

All this calls for the withdrawal of all claims and demands brought by the International Federation of Professional Football Associations (FIFA) and its member associations against FIFA and its football governing body, including those related to the transfer system.

Strategic partnership

As part of the process described above and for informational purposes, FIFA will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with FIFPro, subject to the withdrawal of all claims and proceedings brought by FIFPro and its Member Associations that reflect the proposed changes.

All commitments undertaken will be fully respected by FIFA as world football’s governing body and its affiliates as set out in the FIFA Statutes and the General Regulatory Framework.

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