Regulations Governing the Application of Statutes

Chapter VIII.  Nationality of Players

Art. 18

1.  Any player who is a naturalised citizen of a country in virtue of that country's laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country.

2.  If a player has been included in a national or representative team of a country for which he is eligible to play pursuant to §1, he shall not be permitted to take part in an international match for another country. Accordingly, any player who is qualified to play for more than one national association (i.e. who has dual nationality) will be deemed to have committed himself to one association only when he plays his first international match in an official competition (at any level) for that association.

3.  The only players exempt from this provision are those whose nationality has been changed not voluntarily but as the result of an international decree either granting independence to a region or ceding part of one country to another.

FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players [as of 5 July 2001]

Chapter XIII.  Release of players for national association representative matches

Art. 36

1  Any club which has concluded a contract with a player who is ineligible to play for the national association of which the club is a member is obliged to release him to the national association of which he is a national, if he is selected for one of its representative teams, irrespective of his age.  The same provision applies to a club of a national association for any of its players who are nationals of the same national association, if they are summoned to play in a representative match.

[N.B.:  FIFA has said that Paragraph 2, which immediately follows, will be modified so that it coincides with the more recent regulations, reproduced below, entitled Release of players for national association representative matches in accordance with the Coordinated International Match Calendar.]

2  This provision is binding for the following matches:

(a) a total of five international matches per calendar year.  If during the course of the same calendar year and after five matches have been played, a national association is still required to play matches in the FIFA World Cup™ preliminary competition, in the Olympic Football Tournaments preliminary competition and/or in the preliminary competition of confederation championships for "A" national teams, then the compulsory release of the player shall be extended to include such matches.

(b) additionally, any match in FIFA final competitions or the final competition of confederation championships for "A" national teams and of other competitions organised by the confederations, provided these competitions lead to qualification for a FIFA competition;

(c) additionally, any other match in respect of which the FIFA Executive Committee has taken a special decision.

3  If a national association’s representative team has qualified ex officio for a final competition, the compulsory release, as prescribed in par. 2 (a) above, shall comprise eight international matches per calendar year.

4  It is not compulsory to release players for friendly matches scheduled on dates outside the coordinated international match calendar.

5  The player shall also be released for the period of preparation. The extent of this period is laid down as follows:

(a) for a friendly international match: 48 hours;

(b) for a qualifying match for an international competition: 4 days (including the day of the match). The period of release shall be prolonged to 5 days if the match in question is held on a different continent from that on which the club is domiciled.

(c) for the final competition of an international competition: 14 days before the first match of the tournament. Any friendly matches played during this preparatory period do not count among the five international matches stipulated under par. 2 (a), or the eight matches stipulated under par. 3.  In any event, a player is obliged to arrive at the match venue at least 48 hours before kick-off.

6  The clubs and national associations concerned may, if desired, agree to extend the period of release. Where such an agreement has been made at the time of transfer of the player, a copy of it shall be attached to the international registration transfer certificate.

7  Any player who has complied with the summons from his national association pursuant to this article shall resume duty with his club not later than 24 hours after the match to which he was summoned. This period may be prolonged to 48 hours if the match took place on a different continent from that of the club with which the player is registered. The club shall be notified in writing of the player's expected outward and return journey ten days before the match. The national association shall ensure that the player returns to his club on time after the match.

8  If a player does not resume duty with his club by the deadlines stipulated in this article, the period of release for his national association shall be shortened for the subsequent summons as follows:

(a) for a friendly match : to 24 hours;

(b) for a qualifying match : to 3 days

(c) for the final competition of an international competition: to 10 days

In the case of recurrent breach of this provision, the FIFA Players’ Status Committee can impose appropriate sanctions, which may include but not be limited to:

- fines

- reduction of the period of release

- interdiction of a summons to the subsequent match/matches

9  A player shall not be permitted to remain with his national team in the interval between two matches for which he has been summoned if the interval is eight days or more.

Art. 37

1  Any club which releases a player pursuant to Art. 36 above shall not be entitled to financial compensation except that compensation agreed upon in the case of an extended period of release (cf. Art. 36, par. 5).

2  The national association summoning the player shall bear the costs of travel actually incurred by the player as a result of this summons.

3  The club with which the summoned player is registered shall be responsible for his insurance cover against illness and accident during the entire period of his release including insurance for injury sustained in the international match (or matches) for which he has been released.

Art. 38

1  As a general rule, any player registered with a club is obliged to respond affirmatively when called upon by the national association of which he is a national to play for one of its representative teams.

2  A national association wishing to summon one of its players who is playing abroad must notify him in writing at least 15 days before the date of the match for which the player is required. The player's club shall also be informed in writing at the same time. The club shall confirm the release of the player within the ensuing six days.

3  A national association which requests FIFA’s help to obtain the release of a player playing abroad may do so only under the following two conditions:

(a) the national association with which the player is registered must have been asked to intervene but without success;

(b) the file must have been submitted to FIFA at least five days before the date of the match for which the player is needed.

Art. 39

A player who is unable to comply with a summons from the national association of which he is a national owing to injury or illness shall, if the association so requires, agree to undergo a medical examination by a doctor of that association’s choice.

Art. 40

A player who has been summoned by his national as sociation for one of its representative teams shall, under no circumstances, be entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released, pursuant to Art. 36 above. This restriction on playing for the club shall, moreover, be prolonged by five days in the event that the player, for whatsoever reason, did not wish to or was unable to comply with the summons.

Art. 41

1  If a club refuses to release a player or neglects to do so despite the provisions of Art. 36 to Art. 40 above, the FIFA Players’ Status Committee shall apply the following sanctions:

(a) a fine

(b) a caution, censure or suspension of the club involved.

2  Any violation by a club of the restriction on playing mentioned under Art. 40 shall be subject to the following sanctions by the FIFA Players’ Status Committee:

(a) all or part of the sanctions mentioned in par. 1 above;

(b) the national association to which the club belongs shall declare the match (or matches) in which the player took part as lost by the club concerned. Any points thus won by the club in question shall be forfeited. Any match contested according to the cup system shall be regarded as having been won by the opposing team, irrespective of the score.

3  If a player reports late for duty more than once, then, in addition to the consequences described in Art. 36, par. 8, the FIFA Player’s Status Committee may, ex officio or at the request of the player’s club, impose additional sanctions on the player and/or his national association.

Release of players for national association representative matches in accordance with the Coordinated International Match Calendar [effective 1 January 2002]

(Contrary to the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, Art. 36 Para. 2, which will be modified in accordance with the decision reached by the FIFA Executive Committee.)

a) Qualifying matches for an international competition played on fixed/set dates

These matches take priority over matches in a national championship. In other words, matches in the national championship or cup competition should not be arranged on one of the fixed/set dates.

A club holding the registration of a player called up to play in the national team must release him to the national association on the fixed/set dates for international matches in each calendar year (see enclosure “Coordinated International Match Calendar 2002 – 2004”).

The player shall also be released for the period of preparation. If the player is called up to play in a qualifying match for an international competition, this period shall be 4 days (including the day of the match ). The period of release shall be prolonged to 5 days if the match in question is held on a different continent to that on which the club is domiciled (Paragraph 5b).

b) Friendly matches on fixed/set dates

These matches take priority over matches in a national championship. In other words, matches in the national championship or cup competition should not be arranged on one of the fixed/set dates.

A club holding the registration of a player called up to play in the national team must release him to the national association on the fixed/set dates for international matches in each calendar year (see enclosure “Coordinated International Match Calendar 2002 – 2004”). The matches may be qualifying matches as defined under Art. 36 Paragraph 2a), or friendly matches.

The player shall also be released for the period of preparation. For a friendly match, this period shall be 48 hours (Paragraph 5a).

c) Qualifying matches for an international competition on a fixed/set date for friendly matches

In certain circumstances (force majeure, schedule problems etc), it may be necessary to play a qualifying match for an international competition on a date initially fixed/set for friendly matches. In this event, if a player is called up, he must be released to the national association as under section a) above, in accordance with Art. 36 Paragraph 2a). The period of release, however, shall only be 48 hours (Paragraph 5a).

d) Friendly matches on a fixed/set date for qualifying matches for an international competition 

If a national association d oes not have to play qualifying matches for an international competition, it may wish to play a friendly match on a fixed/set date.

In this event, if a player is called up, he must be released to the national association as under section b) above, and in accordance with Art. 36 Paragraphs 2a) and 5a). The period of release, however, shall only be 48 hours.

e) Friendly matches on dates outside the coordinated international match calendar

These matches do not take priority over matches in a national championship. A club is not obliged to release a player who has been called up if the friendly match in question is to be held on a date outside the coordinated international match calendar. In accordance with Article 36 Paragraph 4, a player shall only be released to the national association if his club agrees to his release.

f) Final competitions

In accordance with Article 36 Paragraphs 2b) and 5c), if a player is called up, he must be released to play in the final competition organised by FIFA or a confederation and held in a period fixed/set in the calendar. In this event, the period of release shall be 14 days.

g) General comments

1.  We strongly recommend that all national associations endeavour to arrange international matches on either a Wednesday or Saturday. When possible, we also recommend that national associations try to arrange two international matches in the same calendar week, using the “Wednesday & Saturday” system.

2.  The FIFA Executive Committee reserves the right to add extra fixed/set dates for international matches. In this event, players must be released in accordance with section a) above.

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