Circular 1936 RSTP categorisation of clubs and registration periods EN

TO THE MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS OF FIFA Circular no. 1936

Zurich, 16 July 2025

Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players – categorisation of clubs and registration periods

Dear Sir or Madam,

We kindly refer you to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) and in particular to the articles that address training compensation, classifying clubs into categories and registration periods.

The use of the Transfer Matching System (TMS) is mandatory for all Member Associations. The registration periods and categorisation of affiliated clubs established by your association must be recorded in TMS. Additionally, Member Associations must ensure that they maintain accurate data of their affiliated clubs (including club categorisation) in their national registration system (NRS).

1. Training compensation: categorisation of clubs

Each affiliated club must be classified by the relevant Member Association into one of the available categories in TMS, based on the club’s financial investment in training players (cf. art. 4 par. 1 of Annexe 4 to the RSTP).

Furthermore, it is important that each Member Association maintain accurate data (both current and historical), including the categorisation of all its affiliated clubs, in its respective NRS. In view of the requirements related to the FIFA Clearing House and the creation of the electronic player passport, each Member Association is required to send registration details (via the FIFA Connect Interface) covering the entire period for which the player was registered with the Member Association. These registration details must include the categorisation of the affiliated club(s) for which the player played.

Each Member Association must therefore ensure that every affiliated club’s training category is accurately reflected by 31 July 2025 as follows:

- in its NRS; and

- in TMS, if the Member Association has not implemented the synchronisation of clubs’ training category via the FIFA Connect Interface.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland T: +41 (0)43 222 7777 www.FIFA.com The category specified must be valid for the entirety of the relevant season. Member Associations are not permitted to amend the category of a club during a season.

The enclosed tables show the categories available to each Member Association to classify its affiliated clubs and the applicable training costs (cf. art. 4 par. 2 of Annexe 4 to the RSTP).

If a Member Association does not categorise its affiliated clubs by the established deadline, it may be subject to compliance proceedings. We refer you to the administrative sanction procedure (ASP) under article 17 of Annexe 3 to the RSTP.

Please note that FIFA reserves the right to adjust a club’s category to the nearest one available if the assigned category for a given club is not in line with the categories established by the club’s Member Association.

2. Setting season dates, competition and registration periods

Professional competitions

Each Member Association must set the two registration periods for the next calendar year (i.e. 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026), in accordance with article 6 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the RSTP, in TMS by 31 July 2025.

In the event that a Member Association’s current season finishes after that date, it must set the two registration periods immediately after the last day of the current season.

Member Associations may set different registration periods for their competitions for male and female players (cf. FIFA circular no. 1601 of 31 October 2017).

Pursuant to article 6 paragraph 2 of the RSTP, in conjunction with Annexe 3, the data related to dates of competition periods, seasons and registration periods must be communicated to FIFA via TMS at least 12 months before they come into force.

Regarding the timing of the relevant dates, please note the following:

• A season must be a consecutive 12-month period during which a Member Association’s official competitions occur.

• A competition period starts with the first official match of the national league championship or national cup competition and ends with the last official match played within those competitions.

• The first registration period may begin as early as the first day after the day on which the competition period of the previous season ended. Member Associations are reminded that this first registration period must last a minimum of eight weeks, but it can be extended to up to 12 weeks.

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 • The second registration period will normally occur in the middle of the season. Member Associations are reminded that this second registration period must last a minimum of four weeks, but it can be extended to up to eight weeks.

• In any event, the cumulative total of both registration periods may not exceed 16 weeks.

• When fixing registration periods, each Member Association must pay particular attention to their end date. If the end date of a registration period is a holiday or non-business day in the country or territory of the Member Association’s domicile, it will not be possible to extend it to the next business day if this would result in the Member Association exceeding the relevant maximum duration.

• If a Member Association does not set the registration periods for competitions played by players of a particular gender, the registration periods established for the other gender will not automatically apply; the Member Association will not be able to register players where no registration period has been defined.

If a Member Association does not set its registration periods in TMS by 31 July 2025, FIFA may set the dates itself (cf. art. 6 par. 2 of the RSTP). Failure to set registration periods may also result in an ASP.

Member Associations are furthermore reminded that they may modify the dates of a registration period that has already been entered in TMS up until it commences. FIFA must be notified of any such modification. Once a registration period has commenced, its dates may not be modified.

It is the sole responsibility of each Member Association to ensure that accurate dates are properly entered in TMS. Only the dates included in TMS will be recognised by FIFA, irrespective of any communication made outside the system.

Amateur competitions

Each Member Association must set the registration periods for the next calendar year (i.e. 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026), in accordance with article 6 paragraph 8 of the RSTP, in TMS by 31 July 2025.

Please note the following:

• The provisions related to the maximum duration of registration periods do not apply to purely amateur competitions. Therefore, Member Associations may decide to set a single registration period covering the entire season for purely amateur competitions.

• If a Member Association fails to set registration periods for competitions in which only amateur players participate, it will not be possible to register players for clubs participating in those competitions. The registration periods for professional competitions do not apply to competitions in which only amateur players participate.

3 We thank you for taking note of the above and for your valuable collaboration. Please do not hesitate to contact Laura Corica, Team Lead Education, Support & Communication, at TMShelpdesk@fifa.org if you have any questions in this regard.

Yours faithfully,

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Mattias Grafström Secretary General

Encl. Training costs and categorisation of clubs for the year 2025

cc: - FIFA Council
- Confederations
- Football Tribunal
- European Club Association
- FIFPRO
- World Leagues Association

4 Training costs and categorisation of clubs for the year 2025

The training costs listed below are established on a confederation basis for each club category. In accordance with article 4 of Annexe 4 to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, these training costs are updated at the end of every calendar year.

Confederation Category I Category II Category III Category IV

AFC USD 40,000 USD 10,000 USD 2,000

CAF USD 30,000 USD 10,000 USD 2,000

Concacaf USD 40,000 USD 10,000 USD 2,000

CONMEBOL USD 50,000 USD 30,000 USD 10,000 USD 2,000

OFC USD 30,000 USD 10,000 USD 2,000

UEFA EUR 90,000 EUR 60,000 EUR 30,000 EUR 10,000

Please find below a table for each confederation, setting out the categories in which each association is asked to classify its clubs.

Index

Table 1 – AFC

Table 2 – CAF

Table 3 – Concacaf

Table 4 – CONMEBOL

Table 5 – OFC

Table 6 – UEFA

1 Table 1 – AFC

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Afghanistan X Australia X X X Bahrain X Bangladesh X Bhutan X Brunei Darussalam X Cambodia X China PR X X Chinese Taipei X Guam X Hong Kong, China X India X Indonesia X IR Iran X X X Iraq X X Japan X X X Jordan X Korea DPR X Korea Republic X X X Kuwait X X Kyrgyz Republic X Laos X Lebanon X X Macau X Malaysia X X Maldives X Mongolia X Myanmar X Nepal X

2 Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Oman X Pakistan X Palestine X Philippines X Qatar X X Saudi Arabia X X Singapore X X Sri Lanka X Syria X Tajikistan X Thailand X Timor-Leste X Turkmenistan X United Arab Emirates X X Uzbekistan X Vietnam X Yemen X

3 Table 2 – CAF

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Algeria X X X Angola X Benin X Botswana X Burkina Faso X Burundi X X Cabo Verde X Cameroon X X X Central African Republic X Chad X Comoros X Congo X Congo DR X Côte d’Ivoire X X X Djibouti X Egypt X X X Equatorial Guinea X Eritrea X Eswatini X Ethiopia X Gabon X The Gambia X X Ghana X X X Guinea X Guinea-Bissau X Kenya X Lesotho X Liberia X Libya X X Madagascar X Malawi X

4 Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Mali X X Mauritania X Mauritius X Morocco X X X Mozambique X Namibia X Niger X Nigeria X X X Rwanda X X São Tomé and Príncipe X Senegal X X X Seychelles X Sierra Leone X Somalia X South Africa X X X South Sudan X Sudan X X Tanzania X Togo X X Tunisia X X X Uganda X Zambia X Zimbabwe X

5 Table 3 – Concacaf

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Anguilla X Antigua and Barbuda X Aruba X Bahamas X Barbados X Belize X Bermuda X British Virgin Islands X Canada X X Cayman Islands X Costa Rica X X X Cuba X Curaçao X Dominica X Dominican Republic X El Salvador X X Grenada X Guatemala X X X Guyana X Haiti X Honduras X X Jamaica X X Mexico X X X Montserrat X Nicaragua X Panama X Puerto Rico X St Kitts and Nevis X St Lucia X St Vincent and the X Grenadines Suriname X Trinidad and Tobago X X Turks and Caicos Islands X USA X X X US Virgin Islands X

6 Table 4 – CONMEBOL

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV

Argentina X X X X

Bolivia X X

Brazil X X X X

Chile X X X

Colombia X X

Ecuador X X

Paraguay X X

Peru X X

Uruguay X X X

Venezuela X X

Table 5 – OFC

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV

American Samoa X

Cook Islands X

Fiji X

New Caledonia X

New Zealand X X

Papua New Guinea X

Samoa X

Solomon Islands X

Tahiti X

Tonga X

Vanuatu X

7 Table 6 – UEFA

Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Albania X X Andorra X Armenia X X Austria X X X Azerbaijan X X Belarus X X Belgium X X X X Bosnia and Herzegovina X X Bulgaria X X Croatia X X Cyprus X X Czechia X X Denmark X X X England X X X X Estonia X X Faroe Islands X Finland X X France X X X X Georgia X X Germany X X X X Gibraltar X Greece X X X Hungary X X X Iceland X X Republic of Ireland X X X Israel X X Italy X X X X Kazakhstan X X Kosovo X X

8 Member Association Category I Category II Category III Category IV Latvia X X Liechtenstein X Lithuania X X Luxembourg X X Malta X X Moldova X X Montenegro X Netherlands X X X X North Macedonia X X Northern Ireland X X Norway X X X Poland X X Portugal X X X Romania X X Russia X X X San Marino X Scotland X X X Serbia X X Slovakia X X Slovenia X X Spain X X X X Sweden X X X Switzerland X X X Türkiye X X X Ukraine X X X Wales X X

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