Training Rights in Football: Global Guide 2026

By Futbol CV| Last update: March 2026

When a player trains at a club as a child and then signs his first professional contract—or is transferred to another club—the clubs that invested years of work, infrastructure and resources in his development are entitled to financial compensation. That, in essence, are thetraining rights.

But there is no single system. FIFA establishes a base framework for international transfers, and then each country can — or not — create its own system for domestic transfers. The result is a regulatory mosaic where the rules change radically depending on where the player was trained, where they transfer, and what regulations apply.

This guide maps the world's major systems. Each country has its own detailed article which you can access from the links below.

What exactly are training rights?

Training rights are mechanisms that financially compensate the clubs that participated in the sports training of a player. The logic is simple: if a club invested resources for years to develop a footballer, it has the right to receive something when that player generates economic value by being hired or transferred.

There are two main types of mechanisms:

Training compensation:Paid to the training club when a player signs his first professional contract or is transferred before the age of 23. It is calculated based on the training cost according to the club category.

The solidarity mechanism:It is deducted from the transfer price and distributed proportionally among all the clubs that trained the player between the ages of 12 and 23. Applies throughout the player's career, without age limit.

The FIFA system: the basis that everyone should know

FIFA regulates these mechanisms through theAnnexes 4 and 5 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). It is the international standard, but with a key limitation:only applies to international transfers. For the domestic ones, each national federation decides.

The FIFA system classifies clubs into four categories (I to IV) depending on the confederation and division in which they compete, with training costs ranging from€10,000/year(Category IV) up to€90,000/year(UEFA Category I). The solidarity mechanism distributes the5%of the transfer price between training clubs.

→ Read full article: How the FIFA training rights system works

Map of countries with their own systems

South America

Country	Do you have your own system?	Legal basis	Main feature
Argentina	✅ Yes, triple layer	Law 27,211 + AFA Regulation + CCT	National law covering 9-18 years, 5% of the contract
Brazil	✅ Yes, the most robust	Lei Pelé + Lei Geral do Esporte	Solidarity of 6% (exceeds FIFA), right of preference
Uruguay	⚠️ Partial	AUF-ONFI agreement only	No domestic training regulations
Chile	✅ Yes, questioned	Art. 44 ANFP Regulation	USD 30,000/year fixed, challenged by the FNE
Paraguay	✅ Yes	APF Regulation 2021 + Law 5322/14	Faithful replica of the FIFA model
Colombia	✅ Yes	FCF Player Statute	COMET registration required, player receives 8%
Mexico	✅ Yes	FMF Regulations 2020	Post-Gentlemen's Agreement, requires 765 minutes in 1st
Ecuador	✅ Partial	FEF Regulation	Training up to 21 years (vs. 23 FIFA)
Venezuela	✅ Yes	FVF + LOTTT Regulation	Player receives 25% of training rights
Bolivia/Peru	⚠️ Basic	Federal regulations	Basic replica of the FIFA model

→ Individual articles:

Europe

Country	Do you have your own system?	Legal basis	Main feature
France	✅ Yes, the most complete	Charte du Football Professionnel	5 simultaneous mechanisms, bonus up to €1.5M
England	✅ Yes	EPPP (2012)	Fixed rates by academy category
Germany	✅ Yes	DFB Regulations	Low amounts, training from 6 years old
Italy	✅ Yes	Norme FIGC	Alla Carriera Award for professional debut
Portugal	✅ Yes	LPFP Regulation	Domestic solidarity up to 10%
Spain	✅ Yes, weak	Art. 118 RFEF Standards	Risory amounts (~€52,620 for 1st Division)

→ Individual articles:

Other continents

Country	Do you have your own system?	Main feature
Japan	✅ Yes	¥4.8M for J1, tiered by division
Australia	✅ Yes (reformed 2022)	4 domestic categories, integrated with FIFA DTMS
USA	⚠️ Atypical	Homegrown Player Rule instead of compensation
Netherlands	✅ Yes	KNVB guarantees payment if the club does not comply

→ Japan, Australia, USA and other alternative models

Which system is better?

There is no perfect model. Each system reflects the economic, sporting and legal reality of its country:

If you are a training club in a small country:the Brazilian model is the ideal to aspire to — strong national legislation, high percentages and right of preference.
If you want equity between divisions:the Paraguayan model or the base FIFA system works because they categorize proportionally.
If you want to encourage quality training:the French model with performance bonuses is the most sophisticated.
What to avoid:the Chilean model of fixed amount without categories (now legally questioned) and the total absence of domestic regulation as in Uruguay.

The future: FIFA Clearing House and global convergence

From 2022, theFIFA Clearing Houseseeks to automate solidarity and training compensation payments through the Electronic Player Passport (EPP). The global trend points towards systems with proportional compensation by category, domestic solidarity mechanisms and automated verification.

However, tensions persist: the inequality in FIFA categories between confederations (a European Category I club receives 9 times more than an African Category IV club for the same work), the non-application to women's football, and the caseDiarra(CJEU, 2024) that could reform the entire transfer system.

About Football CV

Futbol CV is a platform specialized in the professional football ecosystem. We produce reference content on sports regulation, transfer market and talent development for industry professionals.

Do you want to delve deeper into a specific country? Explore the individual articles in this series. Do you have questions about a specific case? Contact us.

Training Rights in Football: Global Guide 2026