FIFA will finally impose limits on the number of players clubs can loan out, two years after the new regulations were halted by the pandemic.
The changes FIFA revealed on Thursday are intended to prevent player hoarding by wealthier clubs, encourage the development of their talent and promote competitive balance in football.
However, the new regulatory framework that will take effect in July is limited in scope. Players under the age of 21 will be left out of FIFA regulations and the cooperation of national federations will be needed to establish their own loan mechanism.
LIMIT OF EIGHT LOANS
The clubs will have a limit of eight players that they can incorporate through transfers and another eight that can be released with a loan during the 2022-23 season.
The number will be reduced to seven in the season after and six in the season after July 1, 2024.
Another requirement is a limit on the number of loans that clubs will be able to make with a preferred partner in another country: they will not be able to loan or receive a maximum of three players during a given at any time in a season.
Short-term agreements were also banned. The minimum duration of the assignment will cover the interval between two enrollment periods — typically the January and June-August window during the European summer break — and a maximum duration of one year.
Loaning a player who is already on loan to a third club will be prohibited.
EXCEPTIONS
FIFA reported that U21 players and those trained by the club itself will be exempt from the limitations.
This means that a club with an academy packed with players, such as European champions Chelsea, could release an unrestricted number of teenagers wherever they want.
THE OBJECTIVE
FIFA has been working since 2017 to modernize and bring order to the transfer market, one that involves thousands of deals and is worth billions of dollars each season.
One of the fears is that rich clubs that accumulate many footballers could reduce the talent available and prevent their more modest rivals from resorting to transfers.
FIFA proposed the new transfer system limitations in 2020 and they were to come into force that same year, with a three-season transition period. The pandemic stopped him.
On Thursday, FIFA said the proposal would be submitted to its next council meeting, probably in March, to take effect from July 1.
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