FIFA have officially recommended that players’ contracts should be extended past the 30th June and have given a new date for the transfer window, as Coronavirus outbreak disrupted the football calendar all over the world.
The guidelines suggest that all players’ contracts are extended until the end of the current season, with new contracts set to start at the start of the next season. In regard to the transfer market, FIFA have suggested that the window is moved to between the end of the current season and the beginning of the next season.
COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted everyday activities around the world, and been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Football tournaments have been affected, with football activities suspended in almost every country or territory in the world.
Since the beginning, FIFA has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, and as World football’s governing body, FIFA has a responsibility to provide guidance to ensure that any response is harmonized in the common interest on the 18th of March 2020, the FIFA bureau of the FIFA council established a working group in response to COVID-19.
The following guidelines represent the basic outcome of various discussions and were adopted unanimously.
As a general rule of employment agreements shall be governed by the National Law and the contractual autonomy of the parties. Having said this, and consistent with article 18.2 of the FIFA transfer regulations.
It is proposed among other measures that were in agreement is due to expire at the original end date of the season. Such expiry be extended until the new end date of the season, where an agreement is due to commence at the original start date of the new season. Such commencement to be delayed until the New Start Date of a new season.
Equally, it is clear that the COVID-19 outbreak might lead to agreements that cannot be performed worldwide as the parties originally anticipated. Here it is proposed among other measures as follows-
Clubs and employees be strongly encouraged to work together to find appropriate collective agreements in a club or league basis unilateral decisions to vary agreements will only be recognized where they are made in accordance with national law or are permissible within the CBA structures where such agreements cannot be possible for the reasons set out in the FIFA official document unilateral decisions to vary.
Contracts will only be recognized where they are otherwise deemed reasonable by FIFA as a DRC, or PSC. Finally, in view of the current situation it is agreed that the registration periods previously announced can be adapted to the new sporting calendars, which will be established by the respective MHS and leaks.
FIFA guidelines on Changes in Summer Transfer Window
