International transfer of minors in football: protection of article 19 of the RETJ

The rule is clear: cannot be transferred internationally to a football player under 18 years of agePeriod.

And yet, every year hundreds of minors cross borders to enroll in clubs in other countries. How? Because RETJ Article 19 establishes five tax exceptions — and only five — under which FIFA allows such operations. Each has strict requirements, specific documentation and requires prior approval by the Football Court’s Player’s Statute Chamber.

This article is a comprehensive guide on the regime for the protection of minors in international transfers: the general prohibition, the five exceptions, the application process, the 5 year rule, academies, trials, and penalties for non-compliance. All with direct reference to the RETJ (July 2025 edition), the Guide for submitting applications from FIFA minor players, and the jurisprudence of the TAS.

What this article covers

The general prohibition of article 19, paragraph 1
The 5 exceptions: requirements, documentation and practical examples
The 5-year rule of residence (Ap. 3)
Under 10 years vs. over 10: difference in process
The Limited Exemption for Minors (ELM)
Academies and registration obligation (art. 19 bis)
Evidence of minors: conditions and limits (art. 19ter)
Two-stage process in MST: application for minors + transfer
Penalties for clubs violating article 19

The general prohibition

Article 19, paragraph 1, of the RETJ establishes the guiding principle: international player transfers are allowed only when the player reaches the age of 18 years.

The basis of this prohibition is the protection of the welfare of minors. FIFA recognises that, while an international transfer may benefit a young person’s sporting career, in most cases it represents a real risk to his personal, educational and emotional development. TAS has repeatedly confirmed that this prohibition is legitimate, proportionate and compatible with EU law and international human rights treaties.

Scope: The prohibition applies to: all international transfers of minors — professionals and amateurs, male and female football, 11 football and futsal. It also applies to the first registration of a minor player who is not a native of the country where he wishes to register (art. 19, para. 3).

The five exceptions to article 19

Article 19(2) provides for five exceptions — and only five — to the general prohibition. the list is taxative: no additional exceptions can be created by analogy.

Exception (a) — Parents move for non-football reasons

Requirement: The player's parents change their domicile to the country where the new club has its headquarters, for reasons unrelated to football.

It is the most common exception and also the most litigated one. The burden of proof lies with the association applying for registration: it must show that the parents' move was due to work, family, academic or other reasons outside the minor's football activity.

The Player's Statute Chamber evaluates on a case-by-case basis whether the reason for the move was genuinely foreign to football. If both parents moved, they must prove both. If only one moved, it is assessed if the child lives with that parent.

Example: A Colombian family is moving to Spain because the father got a job in a construction company in Madrid. His 15-year-old son wants to enroll in a Spanish club. The Spanish association submits the application with the father's employment contract, proof of domicile, school certificate of the minor, etc. If the Chamber of the Statute is convinced that the move was not motivated by football, approves the application.

Counterexample: A parent changes his residence to Italy " for work ", but the only evidence is a part-time employment contract that started a month before the application, and the minor was already doing tests in an Italian club. The House probably refuses the application.

Derogation (b) — Transfer within the EU/EEA (16-18 years)

Cumulative requirements:
1. The player has between 16 and 18 years
2. The transfer takes place within the territory of the EU or EEAor between two associations in the same country
3. The new club meets 4 minimum obligations

The four obligations of the new club are:

Obligation	Detail
Football training	Provide appropriate training or training in accordance with the best national standards (reference: Article 4 of Annex 4 on club categories)
Education	Guarantee academic, school or vocational education that allows the player to start a non-football career if he leaves professional football. Jurisprudence requires a minimum of ~8 hours per week.
Living conditions	Ensure optimal housing conditions (host family or club accommodation) and appoint a tutor at the club
Proof of compliance	Provide the relevant association with documentary evidence of compliance with the three previous obligations

Extension by case law: According to the consolidated case law of the TAS and the Player's Statute Chamber, this exception also applies to a minor player who has the nationality of an EU/EEA country and is transferred from outside the EU/EEA to EU/EEAThe principle of equal treatment and free movement within the EU underpins this extension and applies to associations of countries with bilateral free movement agreements with the EU (such as Switzerland).

Derogation (c) — Border fence (50 km)

Cumulative requirements:
1. The player lives less than 50 km of the national border
2. The club is less than 50 km from the same border (on the other side)
3. The maximum distance between the player’s home and the club’s headquarters is 100 km
4. The player must keep living in your home
5. Both associations must give their consent

Example: A 14-year-old player lives in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), 10 km from the border with Brazil. A club in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) is 15 km from that same border. The total distance home club is ~25 km. It meets all three distance requirements. If both associations (APF and CBF) consent, and the player continues to live in his home, he can register.

Derogation (d) — Refugees and vulnerable persons

Requirement: The player has a residence permit (at least temporary) in the country of destination and/or has been recognized as a vulnerable person who needs protection after having fled his country without their parents, for humanitarian reasons: persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, social group, political position, or any circumstance that seriously endangers his life.

There is an important distinction according to the status of the minor:

Refugees or vulnerable persons officially recognized
You can sign up for a professional or amateur clubThere are no restrictions on subsequent national transfers before the age of 18.

Asylum seeker or vulnerable person recognized by State authorities
You can only enroll in one club exclusively amateur. It can be transferred nationally but you can't sign up for a professional club until you're 18.

Derogation (e) — Academic exchange programme

Cumulative requirements:
1. The player is student
2. Moves without their parents, temporarily, to another country for academic reasons (exchange programme)
3. Duration of registration: maximum 1 year (or until I turn 18, whichever happens first)
4. The new club can only be a club exclusively amateur no professional team or relationship with a professional club

The case law requires that the formal education is the main reason for the transferIf the minor has already graduated from high school, the exception hardly applies.

If the registration reaches one year and the player has not yet turned 18, the partnership you are responsible for canceling registration in your registration system before the deadline is exceeded. Not doing so constitutes an infringement of the RETJ.

The 5-year rule of residence (Ap. 3)

Article 19 does not apply only to international transfers. first registration of a player who:

Not previously enrolled in any club
It's not natural. of the country where you want to register
I haven't lived. in that country on an uninterrupted basis 5 years at least

If these three requirements are met, the minor needs to go through the same process of approval by the Player's Statute Chamber and be included in any of the exceptions.

The 5 years are counted backwards from the date the association sends the application by the TMS. The Player’s Statute Chamber applies this form requirement very strict: If the association cannot document 5 full years of uninterrupted residence, the exception does not apply and another route will have to be sought.

Example: A 13-year-old Brazilian child has lived in Spain since he was 7 years old (6 years of uninterrupted residence). He was never enrolled in a club. Since he has more than 5 years of residence, he can register directly — but if he is 10 or older, the Player's Statute Chamber must approve the first registration (art. 19, para. 4, c).

Under 10 years of age vs. over 10 years of age

There is an important procedural difference:

Age of the child	Who approves?	Process
10 years or more	The Player's Statute Chamber of the Football Court	Formal application through the TMS with all documentation. Approval must be obtained before to apply for the STI.
Under 10 years	The partnership who wants to register the player	The association verifies under its responsibility that the circumstances of the player are strictly in accordance with the exceptions. It does not need CTI (art. 9, para. 4).

The Limited Exemption for Minors (ELM)

Article 19, paragraph 7, allows an association to request the Player ' s Statute Chamber to Limited Exemption for Minors (ELM). If granted, the association is exempted from the obligation to apply for individual approval for each minor, but only under specific conditions:

Applies only to amateur minor players
For registration only exclusive amateur clubs
The association must verify for itself that each case falls under some exception

The ELM is a decentralization mechanism that FIFA grants to associations with a history of compliance. It does not eliminate protection — it transfers it to the responsibility of the association.

The process in the TMS: two stages

When a club wants to register a minor who comes from another federation, the process in the TMS has two cumulative stages to be completed before closing the transfer window:

Stage 1 — Application for minors
The federation submits the application to the TMS with all the documentation required according to the exception invoked. The Player’s Statute Chamber evaluates whether the requirements are met. Only after approval can the STI be requested.

Stage 2 — International transfer
The standard transfer order is processed: the club loads data and documentation in the TMS, the new federation requests the CTI, the registration is completed. All before closing the window.

If the application for minors is approved after the window closes, the transfer stops with a validation exception. The new federation may ask FIFA to cancel it by arguing that the delay was due to the approval process — but only if the club fulfilled all its loading obligations in the TMS before the closing.

Academies: obligation to register (art. 19 bis)

Article 19 bis provides that:

Clubs that operate academies should notifying the association the presence of all minor players, whether registered or not.
Associations should require the private academies (not related to a club) reporting all minors attending.
Each association must maintain a registration minor players with name, nationality, date of birth, country of origin, agent (if applicable) and club/academy.
Associations are responsible for reporting irregularities in academies and protect minors from any kind of abuse.

Evidence of minors (art. 19ter)

The RETJ also regulates tests or "trials" for minors. Key points:

Appearance	Rule
Minimum age for testing	15 years (if both the youngest and the club are in Europe) or 16 years (rest of the world)
Maximum duration (less than 21)	8 weeks per club, consecutive or not, in the same season
Number of tests per year	Maximum 2 tests per calendar year
FIFA Form	Required to register in the TMS at least 10 days before the start of the test
Consent of parents	Mandatory (written) for minors
Parties	Only friendly matches and activities outside organized football
Payments	No request, offer or receive any payment related to the proof (except expenses agreed on the form)
CTI for testing	He's here. prohibited request a CTI for a player to participate in friendly matches during a trial (art. 9, para. 2)

The club has a duty of care with the player on trial: you must provide medical care for injuries suffered during the test, at your own cost.

Duty of due diligence of clubs (art. 19, para. 8)

Any club that registers a minor — whether by national, international or first registration — must:

Comply with the duty of care for the child
Take the necessary measures to protect and safeguard to the child in the event of any possible abuse
Ensure that the child has the opportunity to receive a academic training in accordance with the highest national standards, allowing you to pursue a career beyond football

These obligations are not optional and do not depend on the exception invoked. universal for any club that enrolls a minor.

Penalties

The FIFA Disciplinary Commission may impose sanctions for any violation of article 19 and its accompanying provisions. Historical penalties for violations of the child protection regime have included significant fines and penalties for violations of the provisions of the Code. prohibitions on registering new players — a measure which paralyzes the activity of club signings for whole periods of transfers.

The TAS has confirmed that these sanctions are legitimate and proportional, even in cases where the club argued that the welfare of the minor was not affected.

Checklist for clubs that want to register minors

Check if the minor is 18 years of age. If not, you need an exception.
Identify which of the 5 exceptions applies to the particular situation
If the minor is 10 years old or older: you need the approval of the Player's Statute Chamber through the TMS
Get ready. all documentation before the application is initiated — the FIFA Minors Guide details the documents by exception
Both the request for minors and the transfer must be completed before closing the window
If you operate an academy with minors, notify your federation
If you invite a child to trial, register the FIFA form at the TMS at least 10 days before
Fulfills the duty of diligence: academic training, living conditions, protection against abuse

This guide is based on the RETJ July 2025 edition, the FIFA Minor Player Application Guide (February 2025), and the Commentary on the RSTP. This guidance is informative and does not replace the advice of a sports law lawyer.

If you're building your career in professional football, create your free profile on Football CV.

International transfer of minors in football: protection of article 19 of the RETJ