AIFF makes amendments in regulations on status and transfer of players

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation has decided to introduce a series of amendments in its Regulations on Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) that will benefit and add value to the welfare of state associations, clubs, academies and players till the grassroots level, the country's football governing body said on Saturday.

The development comes after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the AIFF on April 14.

Under the new RSTP amendment, "the people/academies who are involved in training of players at grassroots level but cannot participate in AIFF youth leagues" will now be eligible for compensation when a player switches to another academy/club from his parent academy/club.

Previously, to be eligible for Training Compensation, an academy or club had to be a part of at least one AIFF Youth League competition. Now that the new Training Compensation has come into effect (from June 1, 2023), the eligibility of triggering the Compensation will not be linked with playing in AIFF Youth Leagues.

While bringing in the amendment, the AIFF Executive Committee explained,"The small academies/coaches are a true source of identifying and training players at the nascent stage but ignored due to the conditions set out in the RSTP. Hence, they are not only disregarded in monetary terms but also in terms of name and fame."

"The Executive Committee has taken yet another far-sighted decision that will strengthen the Member Associations (state associations) both from the administrative and financial points of view," the AIFF said in a statement.

Through a new amendment, the MAs have been given more power to approve the registration, renewal and intra-state transfer of players through the AIFF Centralised Registration System (CRS).

Effective from June 1, 2023, the MAs will be authorised to do the final approval and will also receive 75 per cent of the CRS fee. The AIFF also emphasised that further, in phases, state associations will be given authority to approve intra-state transfers.

In another amendment, the Executive Committee said that from June 1, 2023, amateur players in the country "can be registered with a maximum of 4 (four) clubs but subject to play for 3 (three) clubs in one season."

"The Committee strongly feels that this will help talented players across the country gain more game time," the statement further said.

The registration of amateur players has been extended to a maximum of two years from one, but the player will have to give a notice of 30 days before leaving the club. Previously, no such notice was required for leaving a club. However, the participation of a player in State and District teams is exempted from being counted as a transfer.