FIFA has today published the second report on the activities of its Players’ Status Department (PSD), covering the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
While international transfers decreased during that period, mainly owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PSD nevertheless received a total of 9,785 cases, applications and enquiries – an all-time high. This growth was especially driven by a strong increase in dispute resolution cases (3,986, +22.5%), while registration and eligibility cases decreased slightly (5,799, -7.7%) due to the reduction in the number of applications for the registration of minors (-32.7%).
Another highlight of the 2020/2021 season was the introduction of various important amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber. These included:
temporary rules regarding the release of players to representative teams as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
protection for female professional players relating to pregnancy and childbirth;
a minimum regulatory framework for coaches;
a new exception to the prohibition on the international transfer of minors;
amendments to the process regarding the enforcement of monetary decisions and;
specific procedural aspects designed to make FIFA procedures more efficient.
Furthermore, in May 2021, the 71st FIFA Congress approved the formation of the Football Tribunal to consolidate FIFA’s regulatory decision-making functions into a single body, which entered into operation on 1 October.
The full Players’ Status Department Report 2020/2021 is available at legal.fifa.com.