Iran Contract Registration Directive 1402-03 Season

Directive on the registration of player and coach contracts for the 1402-03 season, issued by the President of the Iran Football League Organisation.

Issued13 June 2023 — letter from the President of the League Organisation to clubs
Structure8-page directive — full text below on this page
Registration window for that seasonPremier League from 10 June to 1 September; League One from 22 June to 13 September

What is the standing of this directive?

Each season the League Organisation issues a directive to clubs setting out the operational conditions for contract registration. This directive supplements the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (adopted 2017) and determines the practical detail of that same framework for the 1402-03 season: the required documents, the deadlines, the caps and the responsibilities of club directors. Responsibility for its proper implementation rests with club chief executives, who must answer before the judicial bodies and the Players' Status Committee.

Full text of the directive

In view of the start of the transfer period for the 1402-03 season for the Premier League, which begins on 10 June and continues until 1 September, and for League One, which begins on 22 June and continues until 13 September, and likewise for the Second Division, which begins on 23 July and continues until 10 October, and in view of the establishment of legal order and discipline and of financial fair play conditions governing the contracts of players and clubs' executive staff, and of the directives in force • the Directive governing clubs' contracts with players, no. 110/025017 dated 25 May 2023 (annexed) • the Directive on the budget cap for Premier League clubs, no. 110/025453 dated 1 June 2023 (annexed) • the Directive governing contracts and the budget cap for Azadegan League One clubs, no. 110/025699 dated 29 May 2023 (annexed) • the Directive on the minimum valid licence required for coaching, no. 110/1878 dated 14 May 2023 (annexed) • the Directive governing sports contracts circulated by the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Federation, no. 110/025769 dated 11 June 2023 (annexed) • the Directive on payment of membership fees by natural and legal persons of the Premier League to the account of the Football Federation, no. 110/05671 dated 7 June 2023 (annexed), it is hereby notified that compliance with the following is mandatory in drawing up contracts. 1) Manner of drafting the contract • The validity of a contract with domestic or foreign players shall not be conditional upon passing the medical test or upon the grant of a work permit; that is, until the club has satisfied itself as to the individuals' fitness and as to their work authorisation, including from the Labour Office for foreign nationals and the military service and educational status of domestic players, it must not sign the contract. The consequences of failure to observe the above procedure also fall upon those who sign the contract on the club's behalf. • It is mandatory to state the club's full particulars, registration number, national identifier, address, telephone number and the particulars of the authorised signatories mandated by the club to conclude the contract, and the player's identity particulars including national code, passport number, address, telephone number, email and agreed messaging-application number (for the sending of correspondence and notices), together with the name and particulars of the agent in the contract. • Pursuant to the resolution of the Board of Directors of the League Organisation, no. 110/15271 dated 1 February 2021, the Board resolved that, in view of the inflation index and with a view to distinguishing professional from amateur players and in order to update the resolution, from the beginning of the 1402-03 season contracts concluded for less than 80 million tomans shall render the player an amateur, and the term of such players' contracts may not be drawn up for more than one season; players who conclude a contract above the aforementioned amount are considered professional and are subject to the professional regulations. • Given that in past years it has been observed that non-typed and handwritten entries, particularly as to the term, the amount, the contract options, the manner of payment or other conditions, have been a source of dispute, it is emphasised that this Organisation is not in a position to receive or register any non-typed or handwritten contract, or one containing crossings-out or correction fluid in the contract text. • Contracts must be fully typewritten, with every page bearing two live authorised signatures (a stamped signature is not acceptable), the club's seal, the signature and fingerprint of the counterparty and the signature and seal of the agent (where there is one), and must be printed and submitted double-sided. • In drawing up contracts, it is mandatory to state matters such as the financial amounts of the contract broken down by each competitive season, the conditions and manner of payment of the financial amounts for each season, the total contract amounts (where the contract is concluded for more than one season), and the official account numbers of the club, the players, the coaches and the executive staff. • The inclusion of amounts in foreign currency in contracts with domestic nationals is absolutely prohibited. Furthermore, payment of tax and lawful deductions is the taxpayer's responsibility, and clubs are not permitted to guarantee or assume the tax liability of a player, technical staff or other personnel. • The amount of compensation for a possible unjustified termination may be stipulated in the contract. Such a stipulation must be reciprocal. The inclusion of termination compensation for only one party to the contract, or the inclusion of compensation for both parties but in unequal and dissimilar figures, is invalid and rejected. • Under the regulations, a contract may not be subject to the influence of third parties, and the inclusion of matters such as making the continuation of the contract conditional upon the continued presence of a head coach or the continued management of a particular person at the club is invalid. • In the club's financial obligations, the aggregate of the benefits and options set out in the contract may not be set at more than twenty per cent of the base amount of one season's contract. • The contract must state that (any activity or matter contrary to the laws of the country and to the annexed ethical and disciplinary codes, including: social misconduct, racial, ethnic, religious and political discrimination, and insulting the competent authorities, whether in the virtual space, in an interview, or by way of publicity inside or outside the field of play, is prohibited, and the offence is subject to proceedings before the club's disciplinary committee and the competent bodies). • Iranian players employed in foreign leagues may not play in the domestic league as loan players. • In contracts with domestic players, the inclusion of a buyout clause (BUYOUT OPTION) is prohibited, and the player may not terminate the contract during its remaining term by stipulating a fixed sum. • Where a one-year contract is concluded between the club and the player, the club is obliged, taking into account the following stipulation which must be set out verbatim in all contracts, to provide for the possibility of unilateral extension of the contract for a further season: (( The club has the right, if it so wishes, to extend the player's contract unilaterally for the following season as well, provided that it has notified the player and the League Organisation of its wish in writing by 20 May of the following year and has added 25 per cent to his contract for the following season. )) • In view of the change to the forms (termination of contract by agreement (release), the form for unilateral termination of the contract by the player, the form for unilateral termination of the contract by the club, the form for the loan transfer of a professional player, and the free player undertaking form), these are annexed for use by clubs, players and technical staff; it is self-evident that from the beginning of the 1402-03 season the use of the previous forms is unacceptable. 2) Declaration of the budget of Premier League and League One clubs: In view of the issued directives on the budget of Premier League and League One clubs (as annexed), until the club declares the budget for the 1402-03 season that club's transfer system shall be deactivated, and following the club's declaration of the budget and confirmation by the judicial committees that there is no debt, the transfer system shall be activated for that club. 3) Team lists: • Number of players in the Premier League for the 1401-02 season: • Number of senior players (unrestricted age): 19 • Number of players under 23, born on or after 30 January 2001: 6 • Number of players under 21, born on or after 30 January 2003: 6 • Quota of special players with no age restriction: 6 (this quota of 6, under the heading (other players), is allocated to conscript players, loan players, B-team and academy players (the club's under-21 and under-19 players), and is not subject to an age restriction. • Number of players in the Azadegan League One for the 1401-02 season: • Number of senior players (unrestricted age): 19 • Number of players under 23, born on or after 30 January 2001: 6 • Number of players under 21, born on or after 30 January 2003: 6 • Quota of special players with no age restriction: 6 (this quota of 6, under the heading (other players), is allocated to conscript players, loan players, B-team and academy players (the club's under-21 and under-19 players), and is not subject to an age restriction. • Number of players in the Azadegan Second Division for the 1401-02 season: • Number of senior players (unrestricted age): 19 • Number of players under 23, born on or after 30 January 2001: 6 • Number of players under 21, born on or after 30 January 2003: 6 4) Restrictions on team lists: Premier League player: • A Premier League player means a player who, in the previous season's matches of the Premier League club of which he was a member, played more than three matches or at least three matches for that club • Each Premier League member club may, during the permitted transfer period at the start of the season, conclude contracts with seven players who are members of Premier League clubs. • Teams promoted to the Premier League may, during the permitted transfer period at the start of the season, conclude professional contracts with a maximum of ten players who are members of Premier League clubs. • Players of teams relegated from the Premier League to the country's clubs' First Division are counted within the Premier League quota. • Players of teams promoted from League One to the country's clubs' Premier League are not counted within the Premier League quota. • Where players' contracts are released before the start of the second half of the season's matches and those players play for other non-Premier League teams, or are not members of any club or team in the second half of the season, they are not counted within the Premier League quota. • The Premier League quotas so determined are valid only at the start of the season. It is self-evident that during the permitted mid-season transfer period the quotas and restrictions so determined are not valid. Foreign players: • Each Premier League club is permitted to sign 7 foreign players, one of whom must be Asian. • Iranian players employed in foreign leagues whose transfer is effected through the international TMS system are, upon joining domestic clubs, treated as a foreign quota of the country of origin. • The conditions for signing foreign players are in accordance with the latest Directive on signing foreign players, no. 140019140 dated 24 August 2021 of the Federation's Board of Directors (annexed) • It was resolved by the Board of Directors of the League Organisation that from the 1402-03 season the taking of security instruments such as cheques and promissory notes from Premier League clubs in respect of foreign players shall cease and shall instead be made subject to obtaining a payment guarantee signature from the president of the general assembly of the said clubs. • The presence of foreign players and coaches in League One and the Second Division is prohibited. • In order to ensure the soundness of foreign player transfers, if a foreign player, other than for medical reasons confirmed by IFMARC, has not taken part in less than 60 per cent of the match time, one foreign quota of that club shall be deducted for the following season for each ineffective player. 5) Manner of submitting documents: • Personal and contractual particulars sheet: (in accordance with the annexed template) must be typewritten and, after registration with the provincial football association, submitted together with the contract; since images of the birth certificate, national card and military service status are entered on the personal and contractual particulars sheet, there is no need to submit copies of these documents separately. • Excel form: the contractual particulars and contract amounts of all players and technical staff must be typed into the Excel form which is annexed, and in addition to the electronic Excel file, a printout of the Excel file bearing the signature of the chief executive and the club's seal must be submitted with the documents to the Transfer Committee for the issuance of the playing licence • Clubs are obliged to submit to the transfer department one copy of each player's and technical staff member's contract in PDF format on a CD; it is self-evident that the contract submitted for the issuance of the playing licence, the contract uploaded to the system and the PDF submitted must be entirely identical; in the event of discrepancy the documents will be returned • Clubs must upload all documents and the contracts of their players and technical staff to the transfer system at the address before attending the Transfer Committee; it is self-evident that a mismatch between the documents submitted and those uploaded to the system will result in the return of the documents to the clubs and the rectification of the discrepancy between the documents submitted and those uploaded • It should be explained that clubs whose transfer window has been blocked by the Federation's judicial committees will have their transfer system deactivated until the block is lifted. 6) Payment of membership fees: All Premier League, League One and Second Division clubs must, in addition to registering and uploading documents in the transfer system, enter the contractual information of all club members into the Federation's membership fee system at the address and pay the membership fees of the club's members and the club's legal-person membership fee according to the following scale: • The legal-person membership fee for a Premier League club is 2,310,000,000 rials and the natural-person membership fee for individuals is 2 per cent of the contract • The legal-person membership fee for a League One club is 420,000,000 rials and the natural-person membership fee for individuals is 27,300,000 rials • The legal-person membership fee for a Second Division club is 119,000,000 rials and the natural-person membership fee for individuals is 9,400,000 rials • Pursuant to the issued letter no. 110/05671 dated 7 June 2023 (annexed), from the beginning of the 1402-03 season all Premier League clubs must pay the Federation's membership fee in accordance with the aforementioned scale and through the aforementioned system, and submit the payment receipt to the transfer department of the League Organisation for the issuance of the licence 7) Issuance of licences for technical staff: All Premier League, League One and Second Division clubs in the country must, for the employment of head coaches and coaches, act in accordance with the Directive on the coordinated system of coach training and advancement, in accordance with the annexed form. • Premier League technical staff: under this directive, the Premier League head coach must hold an AFC A licence, the Premier League first coach must hold an AFC A licence, goalkeeping coaches must hold an AFC Level 2 licence, and fitness coaches must hold an AFC Level 1 or AFC B licence + a bachelor's degree in physical education • League One technical staff: under this directive, head coaches of League One teams must hold an AFC A licence, coaches of League One teams must hold an AFC B licence, fitness coaches of League One teams must hold an AFC Level 2 licence and goalkeeping coaches of League One teams must hold an AFC Level 3 licence • Second Division technical staff: under this directive, head coaches of Second Division teams must hold an AFC B licence, coaches of Second Division teams must hold an AFC B licence, fitness coaches of Second Division teams must hold an AFC Level 2 licence and goalkeeping coaches of Second Division teams must hold an AFC Level 3 licence • All head coaches employed in the Premier League and League One, in the event of termination of their contract with the club, shall not be permitted to work in that tier of competition in any capacity until the end of the season. 8) Enquiry into the status of the chief executive, head coach and team manager In view of the Federation's letter no. 9915523 dated 20 September 2020 and the League Organisation's letter no. 110/7002 dated 29 September 2020 concerning enquiries into the status of the chief executive, head coach and team manager from the relevant bodies, you are requested, before attending the League Organisation for the registration of contracts, to complete the undertakings of proper performance of duties and obtain the necessary enquiries from the security office of the relevant provincial general directorate of sport, and to send the result together with the completed forms to this Organisation. It should be noted that by circular no. 9915614 dated 21 September 2020 all provincial football associations were notified to carry out the necessary enquiries for the head coach, chief executive and team manager 9) Enquiry into the club's status from the Federation's judicial committees In view of the Federation's judicial committees having announced that the transfer window of most clubs is blocked, clubs must, before attending the Organisation's transfer department, take steps to lift the transfer block 10) Provincial exit clearance for players and technical staff In view of the directive of the Board of Directors of the Football Federation, all clubs are obliged, before registering contracts with the provincial football association, to pay the provincial exit fee for the player and technical staff, and under the above directive the football associations of the destination province must refrain from registering contracts lacking a provincial exit certificate. 11) Enquiry into the debt status of League One and Second Division clubs from the finance department of the League Organisation League One and Second Division clubs must submit an up-to-date financial settlement from the finance unit of the League Organisation to the transfer department for the registration of contracts 12) Confirmation of the medical status of players and technical staff - For all players and technical staff of Premier League, League One and Second Division clubs it is mandatory, for the issuance of the playing licence, to submit to the transfer department of the League Organisation the licence and confirmation of the League Organisation's medical centre, IFMARC, in accordance with that centre's directive and annexed forms. - The issuance and submission of sports insurance policies is mandatory for all players and technical staff of clubs. - All examinations are drawn up in accordance with the standards of the medical committees of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation and the research and education committee of IFMARC (the FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in Tehran) and, in accordance with resolution no. 4/23/3/let/1394 of the Premier League Organisation, are conducted centrally at the League Organisation's medical centre (IFMARC) at the address: Tehran, Azadi Stadium West Boulevard, past the entrance to the Olympic Hotel, Iran National Football Centre — telephone: 02144738641. - All football players (senior, under-23 quota and youth) and members of the technical and executive staff of Premier League clubs (women's and men's) and First Division clubs (men's only) are required, in order to obtain a playing card in the 1402-03 season, to attend the IFMARC medical examinations and obtain a certificate of fitness and submit it to the Premier League Organisation before the conclusion of a contract (formal or informal). - Taking into account the club licensing requirements as to the conduct of pre-season examinations for players over 12 years of age, should a club (Premier League or First Division) wish to have examinations of other age groups conducted in accordance with AFC standards at IFMARC, it must formally correspond with the League Organisation and declare its request for the examinations to be conducted. - All Second Division football clubs are required to conduct medical examinations in accordance with the annexed format and to send the original to IFMARC for review and inspection. 13) Formal declaration of the agent and the lawful agent of the counterparty: • If the player or coach has an official agent for the conclusion of the contract, the agent's full particulars must be written into the text of the contract and the agent's signature must also be entered at the foot of the contract. Likewise the percentage or amount agreed between the counterparty and the agent must be stated in the text of the contract (the amount payable must not exceed 10 per cent of the contract amount) • If a lawyer or a national or international transfer agent who has an official contract with the player or technical staff is involved in the conclusion of a contract, they must provide the club with their contract with the player or coach. The acceptance of an unofficial agent, or of a lawyer or agent without a contract with the player, may be brought before the competent bodies of the Federation. • The payment of any sum by clubs to agents by way of agency fees is prohibited in every respect. After the delivery of any document or file by clubs or by any of football's executive personnel to the League Organisation, the officer concerned may, for up to 72 hours, carry out the necessary reviews and field investigations in respect of that file or document and then proceed to approve or refuse it. All clubs, upon the delivery of documents or contracts submitted, bear responsibility as a legal person through the club and as natural persons through the chief executive, the supervisor (manager) and the club's designated representative; it is self-evident that responsibility for the proper implementation of and full compliance with this directive rests with the clubs' chief executives, who must answer before the judicial bodies and the Players' Status Committee of the Football Federation.