28 May 2019 – Benefits for clubs using MYSAFA continue to grow as it has become the gold standard for player identification in South Africa. To date, a total of 260K players are officially registered on MYSAFA with the number continuing to grow every day. Benefits to the association also continue to grow.
MYSAFA’s integration with FIFA’s Transfer Matching System and FIFA Connect ID platform means SA amateur football clubs could become some of the first to benefit from reforms to the international transfer system that will re-shape the way solidarity payments are made to clubs that develop professional players.
FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) provides financial compensation to clubs developing professional players in the form of training & solidarity payments. Clubs that contribute to a football players development between the ages of 12 to 23 are meant to be rewarded once a player signs his first professional contract or is transferred internationally.
Claiming this financial windfall has historically been very difficult as it is left to the developing clubs to chase these payments. Many clubs are not aware of the system and even those that are face an uphill battle dealing with pro clubs that are not eager to part with what is sometimes millions of euros in royalties. The result is that the vast majority of training and solidarity payments go unpaid.
The reform package set to be ratified at next week’s FIFA Congress addresses this inequity with technology. Solidarity payments will be automatically added to all transfer fees and placed in a FIFA-administered clearinghouse. Clubs will be contacted and paid electronically, via the member association registration system. In South Africa, that system is MYSAFA.
“This reform package is significant for SAFA’s clubs and we are proud to be at the forefront of this movement,” said SAFA Acting CEO Russell Paul. “It would not be possible if it was not for SAFA’s investment in player and club registration systems and integration with FIFA’s platform. We expect that solidarity payments to clubs will dwarf that investment.”
Further details on how to ensure your club is included in the FIFA solidarity payment system will be released in the coming week.