Training compensation for players - new rules from January 2019.

By the resolution of May 23 of this year, the Board of the Polish Football Association decided to change the regulations regarding training compensation for players. The existing rules governing this matter will apply only until the end of the year. In the case of a change of club affiliation after December 31, 2018, the new regulations will apply. You can read about the new rules for determining training compensation in this post.

Finally, one might say. The current regulations on training compensation were adopted in 2011 and have long been controversial, as well as giving rise to interpretational problems. The interpretation of some provisions differed depending on which of the jurisdictional bodies of the Polish Football Association took on their interpretation. Of course, it cannot be said with certainty that the new regulations will not give rise to such problems, but certain solutions are certainly worth appreciating.

What remains unchanged?

I will start with what remains unchanged, as this list will certainly be shorter. So, the general principle of determining training compensation remains unchanged. The amount of compensation is still determined by the player's age, the number of years spent at the releasing club, and the category (class) of the acquiring team.

Training compensation is defined as a fee for the training and development of a free player, which the acquiring club is obliged to pay to the releasing club. In principle, the mechanism to prevent circumvention of the training compensation rules by signing contracts or declaring amateur status in lower category clubs to reduce the amount of due compensation also remains unchanged. If within 18 months from the date of changing club affiliation, the player moves to a club of a higher category, that club is obligated to pay the original club the training compensation on normal terms, reduced by the amount of compensation that should be paid by the previous acquiring club

¹⁾By the way, there is an error in Article 1, point 7 of the resolution, as it refers to the difference between the value of the compensation that would be paid in the case of acquiring the player directly from the original acquiring club, and the amount due to the original releasing club from the previous acquiring club, whereas it certainly refers to the value of the compensation that would be paid in the case of acquiring the player directly from the original releasing club.

What changes?

One of the most important changes, in my opinion, is the exemption from the obligation to pay training compensation in the case of a player's change of club affiliation to clubs of Class A, Class B, Class C, women's clubs, and futsal clubs from leagues below the first tier, as well as clubs participating exclusively in junior women's (girls') competitions of any age category. This change should be welcomed as it will allow for a free change of club colors for players participating at the amateur level (up to Class A). However, it should be noted, as mentioned below, that the exemption does not apply to teams playing exclusively in junior competitions (boys').

Another extremely significant change is the detachment of the amount of training compensation from the player's status (amateur/professional player). After the amendment of the regulations, it will not matter whether the player plays in the team as an amateur or a professional player, or whether an offer to conclude or extend a contract has been made to him. This change will certainly simplify the evidentiary proceedings in cases of determining the amount of due compensation to a large extent. It seems that in proceedings conducted after December 31, 2018, all information necessary to determine the amount of compensation will be available on the Extranet platform (player's date of birth, time of registration with the club, name of the acquiring club, and consequently its category).

The third important change is the shifting of the boundaries of the training period for which compensation is due. Previously, training compensation was due for training between the ages of 9 and 23. After the changes, training compensation will be due for training between the ages of 12 and 21, provided that the player changes club affiliation before turning 24 (previously 28). At the same time, a change of club affiliation between the player's 22nd and 23rd year of life will result in a reduction of the compensation. So, if a player changes affiliation before the year in which he turns 22, the releasing club is entitled to full compensation. If it happens later, depending on the player's age, the releasing club is entitled to 75% of the compensation (if the change occurs in the year the player turns 22) or 50% (if the change occurs in the year the player turns 23).

The resolution also explicitly states that compensation is not due if the player changes clubs after 12 months from the expiry date of the contract or the declaration of amateur status, or if the contract is terminated due to the club's fault.

How to Calculate the Compensation?

According to the new regulations, the compensation should be calculated using the formula:

E = L x W x M

where:

L - the number of years the player spent in the club; for incomplete calendar years, the number is the quotient of the number of days spent in the club and the number of days in a year (365 or 366),

W - the base coefficient corresponding to the age category; if the player was registered in the club during periods corresponding to different values of the base coefficient, the multiplication is done for each category separately, and then summed:

1. 12-14 years - 500 PLN
2. 15-18 years - 2000 PLN
3. 19-21 years - 3000 PLN

M - the multiplier corresponding to the category of the acquiring club:

1. Ekstraklasa - 6
2. I and II Liga - 3
3. III Liga, Ekstraklasa Women, clubs participating exclusively in junior boys' competitions of any age category - 1
4. IV Liga, District League, I Liga Women, Ekstraklasa and I Liga Futsal - 0.5
5. A, B, C Liga, other women's competition classes, futsal, clubs participating exclusively in junior girls' competitions of any age category - 0

Will it be "more expensive" or "cheaper"?

After conducting several simulations and comparing the values of the compensation according to the existing and new rules, I am of the opinion that generally the rates have been rationalized and should be more in line with the financial conditions of Polish football. Of course, in some cases, the value of the compensation may be higher than before, especially in situations where the calculation concerns players with amateur status, to whom the club did not offer a contract and who would join teams from the II Liga and above.

Let's hope that the new regulations will not be a barrier to players changing clubs, and at the same time, the compensation for the departing clubs will remain at an appropriate level.

Foto. PolandMFA on Trendhype / CC BY-ND

1. By the way, in Article 1, point 7 of the resolution, there is an error. It refers to the difference between the compensation value that would be paid in the case of acquiring a player directly from the original acquiring club, and the amount due to the original departing club from the previous acquiring club, when it certainly refers to the compensation value that would be paid in the case of acquiring a player directly from the original departing club.