Fifa introduces clearing house
Payment of transfer fees for players will from July 1 pass through the Fifa Clearing House in order to reinforce rewarding of clubs that invest in the development of young players.
Under the new system, the Clearing House will compute the compensation to be paid to the club that groomed a player from age 12 to 23 once he turns professional and every time he is transferred from one club to another.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) player transfer matching system compliance manager Casper Jangale said the introduction of the Clearing House will benefit Malawian clubs that export players.
He said: “The idea behind the Clearing House is simple. A club or academy that has helped in developing a player must be rewarded for its effort.
“Basically, this will be done in two ways. There is ‘training compensation’ which will be paid to a club that was involved in the development of a player aged between 12 and 23.
“This means all clubs that were involved in a player development during this period are entitled to the training compensation whenever the player is being transferred from one club to another.
“The second one is ‘solidarity fees’ which involves paying a club involved in developing a player who is over 23 years old. Clubs are also entitled to a cut from all transfers of a player they have developed who is over 23 years.
“So, since all transfer payments will be centralised, the Clearing House will compute and calculate which clubs which get training compensation or solidarity fees should be played.”
Jangale said in the past Africa clubs were not able to claim the compensation due to lack of a regulation and system on tracking the players’transfer fees.
“For example, DD Sunshine was not able to claim any compensation from Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga transfers. But through the creation of the Clearing House, DD Sunshine will get a share in any transfer of these two players after July 1,” he said.
Soccer analyst David Kanyenda, a private practice lawyer currently studying Fifa’s Diploma in Football Law, hailed the creation of Clearing House.
He said: “While Malawian clubs have trained and exported players to foreign leagues especially the South African Premier Soccer League, it is unclear if they have been beneficiaries of the existing training reward systems. At least two Malawian players made the top 10 list of most valuable players in PSL.
“Limbikani Mzava is valued at a whopping R17.3 million which translates into roughly K850 million whereas Frank Gabadinho Mhango is pegged at an equally hefty sum of R15.2 million which is slightly over K760 million.
“Mzava has switched clubs no fewer than three times starting at Celtic before moving to Black Aces, Golden Arrows and nestling at Highlands Park. Gaba hasn’t been left behind either. Following his maiden season at Bloemfontein Celtic he went on to play for Golden Arrows, and Bidvest Wits before settling at Orlando Pirates. These transfer activities ought to trigger some compensation payments towards the Malawian clubs.”
He called for clubs and football academies to familiarise themselves with the Clearing House.
“Player market values and transfer fees will become an increasingly interesting conversation from the perspective of the training reward systems.
“Clubs that invested in these players ought to closely follow their movements in order to rightfully claim their dues each time they switch clubs.
“Those involved in the player development structures and/or running football academies must take particular interest to familiarise themselves with the forthcoming Clearing House system,” said Kanyenda.
Once fully operational, it is estimated that $400 million per annum will pass through the Clearing House comprising 15 000 transactions, involving more than 120 countries and 15 different currencies.
