Transfer window
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In association football, the transfer window is the period during the year in which a football team can transfer players either in or out of their playing staff. In France, the transfer window is called Mercato, from the Italian for "market".
The window was introduced in response to negotiations with the European Commission. The system has been used in many European leagues before being brought into compulsory effect by FIFA during the 2002-03 season.[1] However, the exact regulations and possible exceptions are established by each competition's governing body rather than by the national football association.[2]
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[edit] Current schedules and exceptions
FIFA regulates in general that there shall be two windows, a longer one (max. twelve weeks) in the break between two seasons and shorter one (max. four weeks) in the middle of a season. The specific periods depend on the league's season cycle and are determined by the national football authorities.[3]
When a league commences in the second half of the year (eg. August or September) and stretches over two years (autumn-spring season), the first window is usually open from 1 July until midnight of 31 August and the second one from 1 January until midnight on 31 January the same year. Most major European leagues have adopted this scheme.
The periods differ when a league runs throughout a whole year from spring to autumn, as in most Nordic countries due to weather constraints. The first window opens from 1 March until midnight of 30 April, followed by the in-season window from 1 August to 31 August.
| Pre-season window | Mid-season window | Associations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January - 31 March | 1 July - 31 July | Sweden[4] |
| 1 January - 31 March | 1 August - 31 August | Norway[5] |
| 15 January - 15 April | 15 June - 15 August | USA[6] |
| 1 March - 30 April | 1 August - 31 August | Finland[7] |
| 1 July - 31 August | 1 January - 31 January | Denmark[8], England[9], France[10], Germany[11], Italy[citation needed], Spain[citation needed], Scotland |
If the last day of a transfer window is on a weekend, the deadline can be extended to the following Monday at the request of those involved for business reasons.[12] The first shift of the deadline since its inception took place in summer 2008, when the deadline was extended by 24 hours to fall on Monday 1 September at midnight.[13][14] The German football league has announced to extend the January 2009 deadline to 2 February.[15]
Free agents can be signed by a club at any time in the season, if they had been released by their previous club before the end of the transfer window.[12] A club can request to sign a player on emergency basis, ie if several goalkeepers are injured at the same time.[12] In England, clubs from the Football League Championship to the Football Conference can loan in players from 8 September to 23 November and also from 8 February until 23 March.[16] An existing loan deal can be made permanent at any time outside the transfer window.[citation needed]
[edit] Transfer deadline day
The day upon which a window closes is known as the deadline day. Deadline day is usually one of the busiest days of the transfer window. Typically this day generates a rash of media interest and can also see big moves, notable recent examples of transfers agreed on the deadline day include:
| Date of Transfer | Player | Transferred from | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2004 | Wayne Rooney | Everton F.C. | Manchester United | £27 million |
| August 2005 | Michael Owen | Real Madrid | Newcastle United | £16 million |
| August 2006 | Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano |
Corinthians | West Ham United F.C. | £12 million |
| August 2006 | Ashley Cole | Arsenal F.C. | Chelsea F.C. | £5 million plus William Gallas |
| January 2008 | Jermain Defoe | Tottenham Hotspur F.C. | Portsmouth F.C. | Undisclosed |
| September 2008 | Robinho | Real Madrid | Manchester City | £32.5 million[17] |
| September 2008 | Dimitar Berbatov | Tottenham Hotspur F.C | Manchester United | c. £30.75 million + Fraizer Campbell on season long loan |
[edit] Calls to end the transfer window
Steve Coppell, manager of Reading FC in the English Championship Division, and others have called for the transfer window to be scrapped in favour of the previous system, where deals could be struck throughout the season until the closing weeks.[18] Coppell said that the transfer window breeds panic and encourages “scurrilous” transfer activity adding that “I cannot see the logic in a transfer window. It brings on a fire-sale mentality, causes unrest via the media and means clubs buy too many players” adding that “The old system, where if you had a problem you could look at loans or make a short-term purchase, was far better than this system we have at the moment.”[19]
On the January 2008 deadline day Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said the club had received a call at 11.55pm (five minutes before the transfer window closed) from Manchester City to say they had submitted the relevant documents to sign Benjani. Redknapp said "That's when Peter Storrie gave the go-ahead for our forms (to register Defoe) to go through. Once their forms were sent, we had to get ours off very quickly." Portsmouth were contacted by Premier League officials at 12.15am to say they had not received all the documents to complete the Benjani deal.[20]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Uefa wants transfer windows". BBC Sport (2002-01-24). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Transfer clarification". The Football Association (2005-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players" (PDF) p. 10. FIFA. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Tävlingsbestämmelser år 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish) p. 24. Svenska Fotbollförbundet (2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Nytt overgangsvindu i Norge" (in Norwegian). Adresseavisen (2008-01-03). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "2008 MLS Player Rules & Regulations". Major League Soccer (2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Säännöt ja määräykset" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto (2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "DBU Bulletin Nr. 7/8" (PDF) (in Danish) p. 27. Dansk Boldspil-Union (2002). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Transfer deadline closes in". The FA (2002-08-30). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Titre II - Les joueurs" (PDF) (in French) p. 25. UNFP (2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Spielordnung" (PDF) (in German) p. 27. Deutscher Fußball-Bund. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ a b c "Deadline day rules & regulations". BBC Sport (2008-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ BBC Staff reporter (18 August 2008). "Transfer deadline to be extended", BBC. Retrieved on 7 October 2008. Archived 2008-10-07.
- ^ Gatward, Matt. "Wenger urges fans to support Adebayor as striker seals new deal", The Independent (London), 19 August 2008, p. 54.
- ^ "Wechselperiode I endet erst am Montag" (in German). bundesliga.de (2008-08-29). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "The transfer window explained", BBC Sport (2002-12-18). Retrieved on 2 January 2008.
- ^ "City clinch Robinho coup". Retrieved on 2 September 2008.
- ^ "Steve Coppell calls for end to transfer window", The Times (2008-01-02). Retrieved on 2 January 2008.
- ^ "Managers hit out at 'rubbish' transfer system", The Daily Telegraph (2007-12-31). Retrieved on 2 January 2008.
- ^ "Clubs face wait over Benjani deal", BBC Sport (2002-02-01). Retrieved on 2 February 2008.
