Player loans will be subject to a new regulation on 1er July 2022, which is part of the third group of reforms of the international transfer system – transfers of minors, loan agreements and size of staff, registration periods, financial regulations.
Player loans will be subject to a new regulation on 1er July 2022, which is part of the third group of reforms of the international transfer system – transfers of minors, loan agreements and size of staff, registration periods, financial regulations.
Context of the reform on the loans of football players
Faced with the runaway loans of players under professional contracts, unions such as the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) had already reported abuses of the lending mechanism.
This system has certain advantages for the various stakeholders: allowing young players to play and become competitive more quickly when they could not have been part of the lending club's squad, but also supporting the borrowing clubs who do not would not have been able to acquire such players, or benefit the lending clubs which thus speculate on the value of their recruits.
However, it also presents some risks linked to a phenomenon of unfair competition as well as to the growing gaps between the big lending clubs which speculate on loaned players who appreciate in value, and the smaller clubs which do not receive any compensation or commission. on the future transfers of players borrowed and yet trained among their workforce.
The main changes in terms of player loans
The main objectives of this reform are improving the development of young players (1), the preservation of the competitive balance (2), the limitation of the excessive accumulation of players under professional contracts (3)
- Obligation of a written agreement specifying the conditions of the loan (in particular its duration and its financial conditions);
- Minimum loan duration (that between two registration periods), and maximum duration (one year);
- Ban on "under-lend"a professional player to a third party club;
- Limit on the number of loans between two clubs each season (a club may simultaneously have a maximum of 3 professional players on loan from the same club during a season – this restriction also applies to the number of players a club can loan to the same club);
- Limit on the total number of loans a club can make each season.
Calendar of the new FIFA regulations applicable from July 1, 2022
To carry out this major reform, FIFA has planned to proceed in stages from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2024 :
- From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 inclusive : a club may loan out a maximum of 8 professional players and accept a maximum of 8 players on loan at any time during the same season;
- From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 inclusive : the above limit will increase to 7 players;
- From July 1, 2024 : the limit will increase to 6 players.
Regarding the transposition of this reform at national level, the member associations of FIFA will have 3 to set up a new loan system in line with new international regulations.
