On Thursday, world football's governing body FIFA announced the introduction of new loan regulations across the sporting code which sought, inter alia, to "limit excessive and abusive practices" and "prevent the hoarding of players".
The new regulatory framework includes a number of fundamental changes, the most notable of which are as follows:
- The number of loans between the same two clubs will be limited; a club will only be permitted to have a maximum of three players loaned out to a specific club, and a maximum of three players loaned in from a specific club during a season.
- The total number of loans of a club per season will be limited to eight players loaned in and eight players loaned out from 1 July 2022, with this number dropping to seven from 1 July 2023, and to six from 1 July 2024.
- Players who are U21 and club-trained players will be exempt from these regulations.
Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates are among the domestic teams who have most commonly made use of the loan market to develop players in recent years and both clubs currently have at least five players each who are out on short-term loans.
The South African Football Association and the Premier Soccer League will have three years to formally adopt rules which are "in line with the principles recognised by FIFA" although the changes will already come into effect as of 1 July 2022.
