FIFA approves mandatory transfer-fee share for some players from 2027

FIFA has approved new regulations allowing players to receive a share of the transfer fees paid for them, with certain lower-paid players set to receive a mandatory minimum in international transfers from 1 January 2027.

The amendments to the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players were approved by the Bureau of the Council and will be of particular interest to clubs and players in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

The changes form part of a wider package covering the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal and the FIFA Governance Regulations.

The main change is contained in a new Article 21bis, which deals with a player’s participation in a transfer fee.

Under the general principle set out by FIFA, clubs and players will be allowed to agree that the player receives a proportion of the transfer compensation paid in connection with an international move.

However, the regulations will require players whose yearly fixed remuneration is less than EUR 150,000 to receive 5% of the relevant fixed transfer compensation.

A player may give up part of that entitlement, but the amount they retain cannot fall below the higher of two figures: their fixed remuneration for the final year of their contract with the releasing club, or 2.5% of the total fixed transfer compensation.

The provisions apply to permanent international transfers and are based on the player’s yearly fixed remuneration with the releasing club during the season in which the transfer takes place.

FIFA said the new rules do not create an entitlement where the arrangement is prohibited by national law, domestic regulations in force when the amendments are adopted, or a valid collective bargaining agreement negotiated by representatives of employers and employees at national level.

The regulations also exclude the FIFA entitlement where national law or a valid domestic collective bargaining agreement already provides for a similar right to participate in a transfer fee. That remains the case regardless of whether the payment would be made by the releasing club or the engaging club under the relevant national framework.

The FIFA circular sent to all member associations on Tuesday stated: ‘For the sake of clarity, no entitlement will arise if prohibited by national law, by applicable national regulations in force at the time when these regulations would be adopted, or where a national law or valid collective bargaining agreement at domestic level establishes a similar concept.’

The detailed rules also state: ‘Clubs and players are free to agree on a player’s participation in a transfer fee paid for that same player.’

They add: ‘In the context of permanent international transfers, the following applies mandatorily to players earning less than a yearly fixed remuneration of EUR 150,000 (or its equivalent) with the releasing club during the season in which the international transfer occurs.’

The regulations further specify: ‘No entitlement to participate shall exist under this article where: a) this is either prohibited by national law, by applicable domestic regulations in force when these regulations are adopted, or by a collective bargaining agreement validly negotiated by employers’ and employees’ representatives at domestic level, or b) a national law or such a collective bargaining agreement establishes a similar concept, under which a player is entitled to participate in the transfer fee, irrespective of whether such entitlement to participate would be payable by either the releasing or the engaging club according to their national law or such a collective bargaining agreement.’

The amendments are scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027.