Registration of Minors: CAS 2020/A/7503 N.RC. v. FIFA

Date of the decision: 2021-03-25

Arbitrator(s): Rui Botica Santos

Exceptions to allow international transfers of players under the age of 18 are only permitted if within the exceptions allowed in Article 19.2 RSTP. The exceptions have been admitted to providing certain flexibility - to both clubs and players - but exclusively within the aim to protect minor players. Basically, the exceptions have been established to accommodate certain reasonable circumstances that would not affect the minors, among others, in socio-economic, educational, cultural, family and psychological terms.

Facts and Procedure

The player is a North American and Hungarian minor player who lived all his life in the US and has been training and playing football in this country since an early age until July 2020, when he moved to Hungary, his other home country. In the past, during some holiday periods, the player used to visit Hungary.

In July 2020, the player and his mother decided to move to Hungary, invoking the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the USA. They decided to move to Hungary related to the player’s Hungarian grandparents’ advanced age and delicate health conditions and their...

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