What are the facts?

On the issue of training and development compensation, FIFA requires that academies and clubs be compensated for developing players after they make it into the professional ranks as per each country’s local federation.

As per FIFA regulations on the status and transfer of players, edition 2021, the world governing body of football states, in part:

“Training compensation shall be paid to a player’s training club(s): (1) when a player is registered for the first time as a professional, and (2) each time a professional is transferred until the end of the calendar year of his 23rd birthday. The obligation to pay training compensation arises whether the transfer takes place during or at the end of the player’s contract. The provisions concerning training compensation are set out in Annexe 4 of these regulations. The principles of training compensation shall not apply to women’s football.

“A player’s training and education takes place between the ages of 12 and 23. Training compensation shall be payable, as a general rule, up to the age of 23 for training incurred up to the age of 21, unless it is evident that a player has already terminated his training period before the age of 21. In the latter case, training compensation shall be payable until the end of the calendar year in which the player reaches the age of 23, but the calculation of the amount payable shall be based on the years between the age of 12 and the age when it is established that the player actually completed his training.

“The obligation to pay training compensation is without prejudice to any obligation to pay compensation for breach of contract.”

FIFA provides the guide for compensation, but it is up to the local federation to implement it, with specific monetary values, which in South Africa’s case lies with SAFA.

FIFA states, “Training compensation is due within a month of the player signing a professional contract. The compensation amount is calculated according to a specific equation: the value attributed to the level of training (determined by the country and the caliber of the club) multiplied by the number of years spent training (between the ages of 12 and 21). Different clubs have different financial values according to the confederation to which it belongs and the calibre of the training – the latter of which is indicated by the category attributed to the club. There are six confederations under four categories of clubs. These categories are based on the financial investment the clubs spend on their players. Category I is reserved for the highest calibre while Category IV is the least. FIFA provides this chart to indicate what compensation may involve according to the respective confederation and the respective category.”