Football clubs worldwide get US$125m in money owed from player transfers

ZURICH (AP):

FOOTBALL CLUBS worldwide have been paid US$125 million in money owed to them from transfers of their former players, FIFA said yesterday, with money routed via its finance house in Paris, and there is a backlog of another almost $200 million.

A further US$31.7 million has been agreed but not sent yet.

The payments are being allocated to more than 5,000 grass-roots and professional clubs by the FIFA Clearing House.

FIFA published an update on two years of work by the clearing house, which started in November 2022 to bring more transparency to the often murky multibillion-dollar transfer industry. It also tries to ensure that smaller clubs get cash they are owed from future sales of players they nurtured.

When Moisés Caicedo made a British transfer record move from Brighton to Chelsea last year, his former clubs in Ecuador were entitled to share millions of dollars from the 115 million pounds ($145 million) fee.

The money routed by FIFA “was a dream,” the president of CD Espoli, Lenín Bolaños, said in the FIFA report, with plans to pay for a practice ground, medical clinic, and a gym.

Some parts of the FIFA transfer market rules, in place since 2001, are under review after a European court ruling last month in a case brought by former France midfielder Lassana Diarra.

The current FIFA system entitles players’ former clubs who trained them between the ages of 12 and 21 to share up to 5 per cent of a future transfer fee.

However, clubs often were unaware a transfer had gone through or did not have the expertise or resources to pursue a claim. Now, the online process is managed by the FIFA finance house, which notifies buying clubs of approved payments that must be made within 30 days.

The wealthiest buying markets England and Saudi Arabia have paid the most in so-called “training rewards” FIFA said – $50.1 million and $18.7 million, respectively, in the past two years.

The leading net recipients have been clubs in the Netherlands ($8.7 million), France ($7.8 million), and Argentina ($7.1 million).

One reason for the backlog is that clubs are not compliant with the system, the FIFA report said. It said that at least 1,600 clubs in more than 100 countries are accredited.

“There are still important challenges ahead and areas for improvement,” FIFA chief legal officer Emilio García said in the 52-page report.