FIFA clampdown on player stockpiling to kick-off in July
by Jonathan Rest
Clubs will be prevented from stockpiling young talent after FIFA announced it will introduce new regulations for the loan market in the second half of 2022.
At domestic level, FIFA’s member associations will be granted a period of three years to implement rules for a loan system that is in line with the principles established at international level.
FIFA
FIFA's plan is to limit the number of players out on loan at any one club to six, albeit there will be a transitional period when the rules come in on July 1, 2022.
Football's governing body said that from July 2022 to June 2023, a club may have a maximum of eight professionals loaned out and eight loaned in at any given time during a season. This will drop to seven in the 2023-24 season and then six thereafter.
Players aged 21 and younger and club-trained players will be exempt from these limitations, meaning clubs with strong academies will still be able to loan out a number of teenagers.
The new regulatory framework will also include:
The requirement of a written agreement defining the terms of the loan, in particular its duration and financial conditions;
A minimum loan duration, being the interval between two registration periods, and a maximum loan duration, being one year;
A prohibition on sub-loaning a professional player who is already on loan to a third club;
A limitation on the number of loans per season between the same clubs: at any given time during a season, a club may only have a maximum of three professionals loaned out to a single club and a maximum of three professionals loaned in from a single club.
FIFA said the measures are aimed at developing young players, promoting competitive balance and preventing hoarding. They should have been implemented in July 2020, but were delayed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It added: "At domestic level, FIFA’s member associations will be granted a period of three years to implement rules for a loan system that is in line with the principles established at international level."
The changes are part of a wider reform of the transfer system which FIFA began in 2017.
Italy dominates the loan market
Data compiled by TransferRoom shows that Italian clubs may well be most impacted by the incoming FIFA regulations among Europe's big five leagues.
Atalanta, for example, have 31 players over the age of 21 out on loan this season to clubs within and outside of Italy.
While some of those are home-grown players that are exempt from the regulations, the likes of Dutchman Sam Lammers (on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt), Croatian Anton Kresic (Rijeka), Ukrainian Viktor Kovalenko (Spezia Calcio) and Ecuadorian Bryan Cabezas (Kocaelispor) would all count.
Manchester City have 10 players over the age of 21 out on loan this season, some to clubs within the City Football Group, such as Australian Daniel Arzani (Lommel SK) and Dutchman Philippe Sandler (ES Troyes).
Others like Marlos Moreno, a 25-year-old Colombian now on loan at KV Kortrijk in Belgium, and 24-year-old Venezuelan Yangel Herrera (pictured), on loan at Espanyol, have never played a first team game for Manchester City despite being signed in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
CLUB
LEAGUE
LOANS OUT
Atalanta GC
Serie A
31
Genoa CFC
Serie A
17
US Sassuolo
Serie A
13
SSC Napoli
Serie A
12
US Salernitana 1919
Serie A
11
Manchester City
Premier League
10
SS Lazio
Serie A
10
AS Roma
Serie A
9
Watford FC
Premier League
9
Inter Milan
Serie A
8
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