Loan of Professionals
1. A professional may be loaned for a predetermined period by their club (“former club”) to another club (“new club”) on the basis of a written agreement. The following rules apply to the loan of professionals:
- a. The clubs shall conclude a written agreement defining the terms of the loan (“loan agreement”), in particular, its duration and financial conditions. The professional may also be a party to the loan agreement
- b. The professional and the new club shall sign a contract covering the duration of the loan. This contract shall acknowledge that the professional is on loan.
- c. During the agreed duration of the loan, the contractual obligations between the professional and the former club shall be suspended unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- d. Subject to article 5 paragraph 4, a loan agreement may be concluded for a minimum duration of the time between two registration periods and a maximum duration of one year. The end date shall fall within one of the registration periods of the association of the former club. Any clause referring to a longer duration of the loan shall not be recognised.
- e. A loan agreement may be extended, subject to the above minimum and maximum durations, with the written consent of the professional.
- f. A new club is prohibited from sub-loaning or permanently transferring a professional to a third club.
2. Loan agreements with a duration of more than one year which predate the entering into force of these regulations may continue until their contractual expiration. They may be extended only in accordance with article 10 paragraph 1 e).
3. The loan of a professional is subject to the administrative procedures provided in articles 5-9 and Annexe 3.
4. Where the contract between a professional and the new club has been unilaterally terminated prior to the completion of the duration agreed in the loan agreement:
- a. the professional has the right to return to the former club;
- b. the professional must immediately inform the former club of the premature termination and whether they intend to return to the former club;
- c. if the professional decides to return to the former club, the former club must reintegrate the professional immediately. The contract which was suspended during the loan shall be reinstated from the date of reintegration, and in particular, the former club must remunerate the professional;
- d. rules governing registration at national level must be determined by the association in agreement with domestic football stakeholders.
5. The terms of article 10 paragraph 4 are without prejudice to:
- a. the operation of article 17 relating to termination of the contract between the professional and the new club;
- b. the operation of article 17, should the former club fail to reintegrate the professional immediately; and
- c. the right of the former club to seek compensation resulting from its obligation to reintegrate the professional. The minimum compensation payable shall be the amount the former club must pay the professional between the date of reintegration and the original completion date of the loan agreement.
6. The following limitations apply from 1 July 2024:
- a. a club may have a maximum of six professionals loaned out at any given time during a season;
- b. a club may have a maximum of six professionals loaned in at any given time during a season.
7. The loan of a professional will be exempt from the above limitations if:
- a. the loan occurs before the end of the season of the former club in which the professional turns 21; and
- b. the professional is a club-trained player with the former club.
8. The following restrictions apply irrespective of age or club-trained status:
- a. a club may have a maximum of three professionals loaned out to a specific club at any given time during a season;
- b. a club may have a maximum of three professionals loaned in from a specific club at any given time during a season.
9. The following transition period shall apply for the limitations in article 10 paragraph 6:
- a. from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023: a maximum of eight professionals for each limitation;
- b. from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024: a maximum of seven professionals for each limitation. Registration of players 03.