Le decree of April 26, 2022 sets the conditions allowing the maximum duration of the first professional contract signed by the athlete to be extended from 3 to 5 years.
Law aimed at democratizing sport in France
Larticle 47 of the law aimed at democratizing sport in France, promulgated on March 2, 2022, amended the third paragraph of Article L. 211-5 of the Sports Code to authorize the extension of the maximum duration of the first professional contract signed by the athlete from 3 to 5 years.
The conditions for extending this maximum duration were to be provided for by decree.
Article L. 211-5 Sports Code paragraph 3 :
« It [la agreement between the beneficiary of the training or his legal representative and the sports association or society] provides that at the end of the training, if he intends to practice the sporting discipline in which he was trained on a professional basis, the beneficiary of the training may be obliged to conclude, with the association or the company to which the center is subject, an employment contract defined in Articles L. 222-2 to L. 222-2-9 of this code, the duration of which may not exceed three years. By way of derogation, when a collective disciplinary agreement provides for it, this maximum duration can be extended to five years, under the conditions provided for by decree ».
Decree relating to the conditions under which the duration of the first employment contract may be extended from three years to five years
The decree of April 26, 2022 now regulates the possibility of extending from 3 to 5 years the maximum duration of the first professional contract signed by the athlete by theintroduction new article D. 211-100-1 within the Sports Code.
« The maximum duration of the first employment contract mentioned in Article L. 211-5 may exceed three years and range up to five years when the collective disciplinary agreement provides for it and includes stipulations specifying:1° The minimum age and the maximum age of the athlete;2° The minimum remuneration offered to the athlete».
First contract as a professional football player
The Professional Football League announced according to press release of March 3, 2022 that the representatives of the clubs and the players' union (UNFP) had "granted on a structure of contracts based on real playing times, thus making it possible to obtain reciprocal contract extensions in the form of a 3 + 1 + 1 (basic contract of 3 seasons with two one-season extensions ) thus placing the sports project at the heart of this system for young players aged 16 or 17. The new device will be as follows:
• 5 seasons maximum at 18 years old• 4 seasons maximum at 19 years old• 3 seasons maximum (+ 1 season + 1 season) at 16 or 17 years old".
La Joint Committee Clubs / Players is now responsible for the implementation of this agreement, "taking into account in particular regulatory constraints both at national and international level, the forthcoming implementing decree provided for in the new law, as well as the regulatory tools necessary for the development of French football."
Professional Football League press release on the first professional football player contract
from 3 to 5 years old
