Financial ecosystem for soccer clubs
Sports Reporter
The South African Football Association’s MYSAFA player registration and competition management system will have a ripple effect for generations to come.
It provides for the distribution of training rewards for smaller clubs who groom young players and make it more efficient for them to get financial rewards.
By now most footballing pundits, administrators, players, coaches and match officials are aware of this technology, and benefits it brings to South African football.
Legendary Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Innocent Mayoyo said keeping track of player records is hard if there is no reliable system.
“MYSAFA is a working system that will help clubs get compensated for their hard work of producing talented players,” he said.
These rewards revolve around two main aspects: Solidarity Contribution and Training Compensation. These are defined in the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).
Clubs must register all players with their member association from at least 12 years of age. FIFA requires a complete record of where players have been registered during their entire career. This is contained in an electronic player passport and used for automated payment of training rewards when the player turns professional.
FIFA’s solidarity reform package specifies that payments will be automatically withheld and paid to training clubs using the member associations’ electronic registration system.
That system is MYSAFA, the gateway for transfer matching, payments, passports and more.
FIFA’s Football Stakeholders Committee recently endorsed the establishment of a fund to partly finance the payment of training compensation. Financed by an additional 1% levy on transfer fees, the system will further encourage and reward the training efforts of clubs.
As payments will be automated via the new FIFA Clearing House, it will ensure that training compensation is actually paid, which, especially in Africa is rarely the case.
