On 06.10.2023, FIFA issued Circular no. 1862, reminding its member associations and clubs of the FIFA RSTP amendments regarding the Administrative Sanction Procedure (ASP), introduced via Circular 1816 on 08.11.2022.

FIFA emphasizes the importance of complying with all TMS administrative requirements outlined in Annex 3 FIFA RSTP, especially following the establishment of the FIFA Clearing House and the new processes related to the calculation, determination, and distribution of the training rewards.

Circular 1862 describes the recent evolution of the ASP and its application to the processes related to the FIFA Clearing House.

It shall be mentioned that the administrative complexities arising from the FIFA Clearing House processes are well-known to football clubs, associations, and football lawyers, affecting their day-to-day operations as well as their long-term planning. These complexities include, amongst others, the delays in the payment of training rewards to training clubs, as well as the numerous communications and documents that need to go through in order to fulfil all the requirements (substantial and procedural) regarding the distribution of the training rewards.

The issuance of Circular 1862 at the present time constitutes an acknowledgement by FIFA of the aforementioned difficulties. It confirms that, until today, FIFA – and all of its members – faces considerable problems in the distribution of training rewards. It must be stressed that before the introduction of the current system of training rewards distribution through the Clearing House, the payment of the training rewards was more clear (payment after specific agreements or following a claim through the FIFA TMS platform) and faster while requiring less working-hours for clubs, associations, and their attorneys.