Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players_January 2027

About the January 2027 editionChanges from July 2025

This edition was approved by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on 10 June 2026 and enters into force on 1 January 2027. It is the most significant rewriting of Article 17 in the history of these regulations; the previous mechanism for calculating compensation ('mitigated compensation' and 'additional compensation' equal to three months' salary) has been removed from the text entirely and replaced with a new system.

Key changes from the previous edition

1. Replacement of 'positive interest' with 'full compensation'It is now provided that, in the absence of agreed compensation, the party injured by the breach of contract is entitled to full compensation for the damage caused by the breach, with compensation calculated in light of the damage suffered and the circumstances of each case, on the basis of the prescribed criteria. For the player, it is specified that the damage includes, in particular, the residual value of the breached contract and other items.
2. A guaranteed minimum in termination agreementsIt is now provided that any agreement on the financial compensation payable to the player must be at least equivalent to the residual value of the breached contract, unless exceptional circumstances justify a lower amount.
3. A presumption of inducement within 45 daysFor the first time, it is provided that if a player signs a new contract within 45 days of the breach of contract, the new club is presumed to have induced the player to commit the breach. The presumption is rebuttable, provided that the new club proves the contrary 'to the comfortable satisfaction of the Football Tribunal'.
4. A defined standard of proof for joint and several liabilityThe joint and several liability of the new club is now conditional on inducement being established on the 'balance of probabilities' — a standard that was not expressly stated in the text of previous editions.
5. Graduated sporting sanctions with a two-year recidivism periodIn place of the previous single sanction, a graduated system has been introduced: a first breach within the two-year recidivism period → a warning and a fine; a second breach → a restriction to registering no more than five new players in one registration period, together with a fine; a third breach → a complete ban on registering any new player for one entire period.
6. A defined period of ineligibility for the player in breachIt is now provided that a player who commits a breach of contract during the protected period is banned from playing in official matches for four months, and that where aggravating circumstances exist this period increases to six months; the ban applies immediately upon notification of the decision.
7. Extension of the Ukraine contract-suspension deadline to 30 June 2027The deadline laid down in the annexe governing the war in Ukraine has been extended by a further year.