CAS 2024 A 10514
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 12 Nov 2024
Why it matters
This case clarifies the procedural requirement for a club to be entitled to training compensation when a player moves within the EU/EEA. It confirms that the former club must provide a properly dated and delivered contract offer to the player or his legal representative. The decision also underscores the importance of naming all necessary parties (including the new club) as respondents in CAS appeals, as failure to do so can lead to dismissal.
Summary
Sporting du Pays de Charleroi, a Belgian football club, appealed a FIFA decision denying it training compensation for player Samuel Kandi Nibombe, who transferred to AS Monaco FC as a free agent. The player had been registered with Charleroi as an amateur since age 12. Under FIFA rules, a club training an amateur player is entitled to compensation if it offers the player a professional contract before the player's first registration as a professional elsewhere. Charleroi submitted a contract offer dated 17 May 2023 and an undated delivery receipt. However, the FIFA Single Judge found that the delivery receipt was undated, making it impossible to prove the offer was notified to the player before his registration with Charleroi expired on 30 June 2023. Therefore, Charleroi was not entitled to compensation. Charleroi appealed to CAS, but the Sole Arbitrator dismissed the appeal on procedural grounds: Charleroi had only named FIFA as respondent, not AS Monaco FC, which would be directly affected by any award. Under Swiss law and CAS jurisprudence, an appeal cannot proceed if it affects the rights of a third party not named as respondent. The appeal was dismissed, and the FIFA decision was confirmed. Charleroi was ordered to bear the arbitration costs, and each party bore its own legal costs.
The detail
Parties: Sporting du Pays de Charleroi c. FIFA FR
Case number: CAS 2024 A 10514
Outcome: Appeal dismissed; FIFA's determination that Charleroi is not entitled to training compensation for player Samuel Kandi Nibombe is confirmed.
Applicable law: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), Annex 4; FIFA Clearing House Regulations (FCHR); CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration; Swiss law
Issues in play: The case involved the interpretation of Article 6.3 of Annex 4 to the FIFA RSTP, which requires a former club to have made a contract offer to an amateur player to be entitled to training compensation. The key issue was whether Charleroi had properly notified the player of a contract offer before his registration expired.
Read the full decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport (football, via FIFA) ↗
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