IHF Regulations for Transfer Between Federations 2025

Key changes in this editionChanges from the edition of 27 February 2020

1. End of the six-month pre-contractThe former rule allowing a player, in the final six months of a contract, to sign a pre-contract for a free transfer has been removed. In its place stands a clearer rule: a player may only conclude a contract with another club whose start date falls after the expiry date of the current contract.
2. Signing a contract while a current contract is runningA professional player may conclude a new contract for the period after the expiry of the current contract even while the current contract is still valid, subject to compliance with Article 9 paragraph 2 of these regulations.
3. Liability of third parties in a transferWhere a third party is involved in the transfer of a player, Articles 10 and 11.5 of the Player Agent Regulations apply — even if the IHF has issued no agent licence. A third party may not act for more than one party in a single transfer, and only that same party may pay its fee.
4. Club insolvency and training compensationThe right to receive training compensation — whether already established at the time of insolvency or arising after the opening of insolvency proceedings — is recognised as a special sporting asset. Upon a club's insolvency, these rights pass automatically to the national federation to which that club belongs; the federation holds them as trustee for the development of the sport, and the IHF or the continental confederation may demand proof of their proper use.
5. Separation of transfers by form of handballA transfer must always be registered between clubs of the same form of handball, in accordance with Article 4.2 of the Players' Eligibility Charter.
6. Recalculation of the federation rankingThe ranking appendix, like the Players' Eligibility Charter, has been updated on the basis of the two most recent editions of the World Championships, and the Executive Committee has been given the power to move federations between ranking bands.