FIFA will limit its loan agreements for the 2020-2021 season – report

(Reuters) – FIFA should limit the number of players that can be loaned by a single club for the 2020-2021 season, the final figure to be settled early next year, the British media said Monday.

Some European clubs have used the lending system to retain a large number of talented young players, giving them the opportunity to play first team football elsewhere and often returning them for profit.

According to The Times newspaper, the restriction had already been ratified by the world governing body of football and the limit should be set between six and eight players, with a maximum of two contracts per season between two clubs.

FIFA said earlier this year that its stakeholder committee, made up of representatives of clubs, leagues, players and national badociations, had supported proposals for the reform of the transfer system.

A report from the FIFA working group, consulted by Reuters, said the existing configuration "sometimes prevents young players from fully developing their talent," adding that an anonymous club loaned 146 players between 2011 and 2017.

After a meeting in London in September, the Stakeholder Committee had agreed that loans should be used for youth development purposes as opposed to "commercial exploitation".

It has also supported stricter regulations for agents, including limits on the amount of their earnings and the number of different parties they could represent in a given transaction.