On 24 November 2016, it was reported that a 17-year-old African footballer had filed a claim in Zurich, Switzerland. Lawyers for the player stated that the claim was “primarily based on Swiss cartel law and the competition law of the European union” and that “FIFA implemented these regulations on the pretext that young football players such as the claimant must be protected… In reality, however, these regulations lead to a discrimination of football players from outside the European Union.”
FIFA prohibits international transfers of football players under the age of 18
FIFA prohibits with its Regulations[1], as a general rule, the international transfer of a young football player if he is under the age of 18.[2] Pursuant to the wording of these Regulations, FIFA provides for three (narrow) exceptions from this general transfer ban, in particular where the player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is located for reasons not linked to football, or in case the transfer of the player aged between 16 and 18 takes place within the territory of the EU or EEA and the player, or where the young football player lives near the border of the neighbouring country, in which the new club is located closely to the border as well.[3]
FIFA justifies these rules with the protection of the rights of...
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