Has anyone checked in on Jim White yet?
Because football transfers fees, and by extension possibly transfer deadline day, could soon become extinct.
Fifpro, the union that represents 70,000 professional footballers around the world, are to undertake legal action against Fifa in an attempt to outlaw the transfer system.
With negotiations with Fifa and Uefa dragging on, Fifpro have decided to take their case to the European Commission.
The union are essentially seeking to make it easier for footballers to move between clubs. It believes players aren’t afforded the same level of freedom of movement as other workers because clubs demand a transfer fee for a contracted player.
If Fifpro get their way, their proposed changes would have the biggest impact on football seen since the Bosman ruling granted players freedom of movement in 1995, enabling players to leave a club on a free transfer when their contract expired.
A decision is unlikely to be made for another few years, but Theo van Seggelen, Fifpro’s general secretary, has called the case a “historical moment.”
“If we win this case and the European Commission declares it illegal, it will be like what happened after Bosman,” Van Seggelen told The Guardian.
Fifpro also hope to end to the loan system, restrictions on squad sizes and the capping of payments to agents.
