FIFA will now allow leagues to open their transfer windows before the current, delayed season has been completed world governing body announced on Thursday.
FIFA has passed a series of temporary amendments to help deal with the havoc to the football calendar caused by the Novel Coronavirus. Most notably, these include allowing the “first registration period” — better known in Europe as the summer transfer window to overlap with the delayed end to this season by up to four weeks.
The transfer window does not open until the season has been completed on normal circumstances but many leagues are only just restarting having been halted in March, and will not now finish in many cases until late July.
However, while transfers will be permitted before this season ends, clubs will not be able to field new signings until the next season begins. The same rule will apply to players moving under freedom of contract, The transfer window can stay open for up to 12 week
FIFA has also recommended that players who have signed pre-contract agreements to join new clubs on July 1 be allowed to stay at their current clubs until the season ends.
Meanwhile, it has also introduced an amendment allowing players who are free agents to play for three different clubs in the course of the same season “in order to avoid any concerns regarding unemployed players”.
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