GLOBAL

TRANSFER
REPORT
2021
2

CONTENTS

FOREWORD 3

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL 4

Overview 4
Top transfers in 2021 15
Player characteristics 16
Transfers by confederation 22
Transfers by association 23
Club characteristics 29
Top clubs by spending on transfer fees 32
Top clubs by number of outgoing transfers 35

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL 37

Overview 37
Top transfers in 2021 42
Player characteristics 43
Transfers by confederation 47
Transfers by association 48
Club characteristics 51
Top clubs 53

AMATEUR FOOTBALL 54
Overview 54
Player characteristics 55
Transfers by confederation 57
Transfers by association 58
Club characteristics 61

ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW 62

Men’s professional football 62
Women’s professional football 68
Amateur football 71

DEFINITIONS 77

METHODOLOGY 81

DISCLAIMER 82
CONTENTS
3

FOREWORD

In 2021, for the second consecutive year, the COVID-19 pandemic caused
considerable difficulties in competitions right across the globe. Football’s
dynamic growth in the years prior to the outbreak of the pandemic was
not completely disrupted, however. Last year, 4,544 clubs (the highest-ever
number and almost 400 more than in 2019) completed a total of 18,068
international transfers in men’s professional football, just a few transfers short
of the all-time high of 18,080 recorded in 2019.

FIFA’s carefully planned assistance for member associations, clubs and players
– such as financial support packages and amendments to various sets of
regulations – have helped the game to grow even stronger, even in such a
difficult period.

The increase in the number of clubs involved in international transfers was

not limited to the men’s professional game, however. The developments
in women’s professional football and in amateur football clearly show that
President Gianni Infantino’s vision to make football truly global is well on track.
The number of international transfers of professional players in the women’s
game has almost doubled in the four years since their introduction to the
FIFA Transfer Matching System in 2018, whilst the number of clubs involved
in these transfers has also risen, from 220 in 2018 to 414 in 2021. At the
same time, 2021 marked the first full year in which international transfers of
amateur players had to be processed through TMS. With 35,367 international
transfers involving 17,571 clubs from all over the world, the numbers in
amateur football greatly surpass those observed in the professional game.

The FIFA Global Transfer Report 2021 offers a wide and detailed account as
well as a clear picture of international transfers across the world of football,
and we hope that you enjoy reading it.

Emilio García Silvero

FIFA Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
FOREWORD
4

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Overview
For the second year in a row, the COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected
football as well as all other activities around the globe. Nevertheless, football
remained vibrant and dynamic, with player transfers remaining an important
part of the game in practically every country in the world.

In 2021, 185 of FIFA’s 211 member associations were involved in transfers of

professional players across all continents, as shown in Figure 1 below.
18,068
international
Figure 1: Member associations engaging and/or releasing players around the transfers in 2021
world (2021); bubble size represents the number of completed transfers –
5.1% more than
in 2020

With an increase of 5.1% compared to 2020, a total of 18,068 international

transfers were recorded in 2021, just slightly below the pre-pandemic levels in
2019. There were 15,617 different players involved in transfers, representing
179 nationalities, with 2,115 of them moving more than once during the
course of the year (e.g. going out on loan and then returning from that loan
within the same year).

Figure 2: Number of international transfers per year

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

18,080 18,068
17,190
16,550
15,662

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

5

In 2020, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strong

shift in the timing of international transfer activity, but in 2021, the main peak
in the number of transfers returned to the usual transfer window during July
and August.

Figure 3: International transfers by month

2021

2020
4,544
clubs, more than
4,216 3,974
3,796
ever before,
involved in
transfers in 2021
2,573
2,502
2,274
2,176
2,286 2,361
1,561 1,558

1,380
539 587 676
357 536 328
613
481
257
68 44 115
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

A total of 185 of FIFA’s 211 member associations were involved in transfers

in 2021, two fewer than in 2020, but the number of clubs involved in
international transfers increased by 9.2% to 4,544, a new high.

Figure 4: Number of member associations and clubs involved in international

transfers by year

Associations involved Clubs involved

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

4,544

4,145 4,162
3,945
3,803

187
185
183
180 179

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

6

Most transfers (52.6%) were concluded well before (at least two to four
weeks) the end of the registration period of the engaging association. Many
transfers, mostly those of out-of-contract players, took place outside the
designated transfer windows.

Figure 5: Transfers by time before the end of the registration period (2021)

6,053

3,453

1,959 1,875
1,652 1,682
1,394

Outside the Deadline 1-3 days 4-7 days 1-2 weeks >2-4 >4 weeks
registration day before before before weeks before
period before

Time before the end of the registration period

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

7

TRANSFER TYPES

Permanent club-to-club transfers (which attract most of the public and media
attention) represented a relatively small proportion (11.4%) of all transfer
activity in 2021 – significantly below the peak of 13.0% in 2017. Transfers of
out-of-contract players were by far the most common activity, with 66.8%,
an increase of more than four percentage points compared to 2020. All other
types of transfers were less frequent in 2021 compared to 2020.

Figure 6: Distribution of transfer types by year

66.8%
of all transfers
involved
out-of-contract
Out of contract Loan Permanent Return from loan
players
70% 67.9% 68.1%
66.3% 66.8%
65.5% 65.4%
64.3%
67.5%

60% 62.7%

50%

40%

30%

20%
16.1%
13.5% 14.2%
13.6% 13.4% 13.6% 13.1% 13.1%
12.9%
10.6% 11.6%
10.4% 12.9% 11.4%
10% 10.7% 11.7% 13.0% 12.5%
9.7% 8.7%
8.3% 8.8% 7.8% 8.4% 8.4% 8.6% 8.6%

0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
8

When a club registers an out-of-contract player, they need to declare the

reason for the termination of the player’s previous employment contract.
While an expired contract is traditionally the most common reason, it became
even more prominent in 2021, with 43.5% of all out-of-contract transfers
falling into this category, compared to 39.3% in 2020. The category of
mutually agreed contract terminations between the player and his previous
club was the second most common (33.9% v. 36.0% in 2020). Players who
had no previous contract and were playing as amateurs for their former clubs
represented the third-largest share of all out-of-contract transfers in 2021
(with 19.0%).

Figure 7: Distribution of the reasons why players moved out of contract

(2021)

3.6%
19.0% 43.5%

Out-of-contract reason
Contract expired

Mutually agreed
termination

No previous contract

Unilateral termination

33.9%

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

9

TRANSFER FEES

In 2021, and in contrast to the total number of transfers, spending on transfer

fees declined for the second year in a row, with a total of USD 4.86 billion, a
fall of 13.6% compared to 2020 and 33.8% below the record levels of 2019.
This means that while all clubs needed to freshen up their squads (with the
overall number of transfers at a similar level to the 2019 peak), clubs were
not as eager to pay transfer fees, and therefore the total transfer fees hit a
five-year low in 2021. USD
Figure 8: Transfer fees in USD by year

7.35bn
4.86bn
spent on transfer
6.94bn
fees
6.29bn

5.63bn

4.86bn

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

This trend is also reflected in the proportion of transfers involving a transfer

fee, 12.3%, the lowest level since 2011. This number was at its highest (15.0%)
in 2017 and had not fallen below 13% since 2014.

Figure 9: Share of transfers with and without transfer fees (2021)

2,230 (12.3%)
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Without transfer fees

With transfer fees

15,838 (87.7%)
10

Among the international transfers that involved a fee, the vast majority

59.0%
(59.0%) were for less than USD 500,000. Those with fees exceeding
USD 5 million represented just less than 10% of transfers with fees, or 1.2%
of all international transfers.
of all transfers
Figure 10: Transfers by size of transfer fee in USD (2021)
with fees involved
1,316 a fee of less than
USD 500k

426

266

103 119

>0-500k >500k-1m >1m-5m >5m-10m >10m

Transfer fee (USD)

The median transfer fee also fell sharply in 2021, dropping to USD 300,000
and thus back to the levels of 2011.

Figure 11: Number of transfers with fees and median transfer fee in USD by
year

Transfers with fees Median transfer fee (USD)

2,688
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

2,352 2,375
2,277 2,230

410.3k
379.4k

375.4k

330.4k
300.0k

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

11

In 2021, the size of the transfer fee did not appear to have a strong influence
on the timing of the transfer as most were completed well before the end of
the registration period, irrespective of the transfer fee involved.

Figure 12: Time before the end of the registration period by size of transfer
fee (2021)

Fee range (USD) >0-500k >500k-1m >1m-5m >5m-10m >10m

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Outside the Deadline 1-3 4-7 1-2 >2-4 >4 weeks
registration day days days weeks weeks before
period before before before before

Time before the end of the registration period

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

12

SELL-ON FEES

Agreements between clubs regarding potential benefits for the releasing club
in any future transfer between the engaging club and a third club have almost
become standard practice in transfers with fees, as more than half of such
transfers in 2021 (53.7%) included such a clause. A sell-on fee was included
in just 2.8% of transfers without a transfer fee, however.

Figure 13: Percentage of transfers with sell-on fees by transfer fee (2021)
53.7%
of all transfers
Transfers with transfer fees Transfers without transfer fees
with fees also
46.3% 2.8%
included a sell-on
clause

53.7% 97.2%

With sell-on fee Without sell-on fee

Once again, the likelihood of a sell-on fee being included in a transfer contract
was more than three times greater for a player under the age of 18 than for
a player between 24 and 29 years of age.

Figure 14: Percentage of transfers with sell-on fee by player age (2021)

30.1%
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

13.7%

7.0%

0.9%
0.0%
<18 years 18-23 24-29 30-35 >35
old years old years old years old years old
Player age
13

While sell-on fees were in the range of 0-20% for approximately two thirds
of all such transfers, there was also a significant number of transfers (534
of 1,639) in which the sell-on fee was above 20%. In 16 of these cases, the
sell-on fee was actually over 50%.

Figure 15: Number of transfers by sell-on fee (2021)

650

455

293

139
86

16

>0% -10% >10% -20% >20%-30% >30% - 40% >40% -50% >50%

Sell-on fee

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

14

TRAINING REWARDS

While releasing clubs can be financially rewarded for training and releasing a
player, there may also be other clubs that trained the player in his formative
years but are not part of the transfer. This scenario is covered by the FIFA
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), which stipulate
that specific percentages of the transfer fee shall be paid to the clubs that
contributed to the player’s football education and training between the USD
ages of 12 and 23 (solidarity contribution). Under the same regulations,
training compensation is a financial reimbursement for a player’s training
club(s) in cases when the player signs his first contract with a professional
42.8m
total solidarity
club and in cases when a player is involved in his first international transfer
while below the age of 23. Clubs that have such an entitlement can claim contribution
the payment through the FIFA dispute resolution system. In 2021, the declared in 2021
solidarity contribution calculated by engaging clubs paying a transfer fee
was USD 42.8 million for 340 international transfers, while 1,371 solidarity
contribution claims were submitted to FIFA. It should also be noted that
claims could be submitted by more than one club in a transfer (depending on
the number of clubs with which a player was registered) and that there could
be disagreements regarding the calculated amount due by the engaging club.
Training compensation was declared in 91 international transfers for a total
amount of USD 14.2 million, and within the same period, there were 566
new claims for training compensation. FIFA’s transfer system reforms foresee
the establishment and operation of a clearing house that will simplify and
expedite the process even further, eliminating the time between the actual
transfer and the payment of solidarity contribution or training compensation.

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

15

Top transfers in 2021

Figure 16 shows the top ten international player transfers by total transfer
fee in 2021. These ten transfers alone generated almost 15% of the total
spending on transfer fees in 2021. Similarly, of the 2,217 transfers with fees,
the top 100 were responsible for more than 50% of all transfer fees in 2021.

Figure 16: Top ten transfers by total transfer fee (2021)

Player
Romelu
From
Internazionale
To
Chelsea F.C.
>50%
of all transfer fees
LUKAKU Milano SPA (Italy) (England)
spent on the top
Borussia
Jadon
Dortmund
Manchester United 100 transfers
SANCHO F.C. (England)
(Germany)
Achraf Internazionale Paris St Germain
HAKIMI Milano SPA (Italy) F.C. (France)

Raphaël Real Madrid C.F. Manchester United

VARANE (Spain) F.C. (England)

Tammy Chelsea F.C.

Roma SPA (Italy)
ABRAHAM (England)

Ibrahima RB Leipzig Liverpool F.C.

KONATÉ (Germany) (England)

Martin Real Madrid C.F. Arsenal F.C.

ØDEGAARD (Spain) (England)

Atalanta B.C. SPA Manchester United

Amad DIALLO
(Italy) F.C. (England)

Eduardo Stade Rennais F.C. Real Madrid C.F.

CAMAVINGA (France) (Spain)

Tottenham Hotspur
Bryan GIL Sevilla F.C. (Spain)
F.C. (England)
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
16

Player characteristics
PLAYER AGE

In 2021, 166 professional players below the age of 18 moved to another

country, roughly as many as those over the age of 35 (157). Players between
the ages between 18 and 23, i.e. professionals who are still regarded as
being in their training and education phase, accounted for roughly the same
number as those involving more experienced players between the ages of 23
and 29 (7,656 and 7,388 international transfers respectively). A significantly
smaller number of players between the ages of 30 and 35 (2,701 or 14.9%) USD
2.8bn
were involved in international transfers.

Figure 17: Number of transfers by player age (2021)

7,656 spent on transfers
7,388
of players aged 18
to 23

2,701

166 157

<18 years 18-23 years 24-29 years 30-35 years >35 years
old old old old old

Figure 18 shows a similar trend for spending on transfer fees, which was
particularly focused on players aged 18 to 23, followed by those between 24
and 29.

Figure 18: Spending on transfer fees in USD by player age (2021) MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

2,827.8m

1,802.2m

161.6m
45.3m 27.7m

<18 years 18-23 years 24-29 years 30-35 years >35 years
old old old old old
17

While players over the age of 23 are more likely to be out of contract when
they are transferred (more than two thirds of all transfers in this age category),
players younger than 24 are more than twice as likely to be transferred on
loan.

Figure 19: Distribution of transfer types by player age (2021)

53.3% 6.6%
11.5%
7.9%
15.2%
8.5%

Ű[GCTU >23 years

20.0% 77.0%

Out of contract Loan Permanent Return from loan

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

Players below the age of 18 are most likely to receive a two- or three-year
contract, whereas practically all other age groups have a high chance of
receiving an employment contract of 12 months or less.

Figure 20: Distribution of contract duration by player age (2021)

60% <18 years old

18-23 years old

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

24-29 years old

Percentage of contracts

30-35 years old

40%
>35 years old

20%

0%
>0-6 >6-12 >1-2 years >2-3 years >3-4 years >4 years
months months

Contract duration
18

However, a higher annual fixed remuneration typically also comes with a

long-term contract, while this possibility practically disappears for players
with a fixed annual remuneration of under USD 50,000.

Figure 21: Distribution of contract duration by player’s yearly total fixed

remuneration (2021)

Yearly tQVCNƂxed >0-25k >50k-100k >500k-1m

remuneration (USD) >25k-50k >100k-500k >1m

60%
Percentage of contracts

40%

20%

0%
>0-6 >6-12 >1-2 years >2-3 years >3-4 years >4 years
months months

Contract duration

The duration of a player’s contract is also related to the transfer fee that the
engaging club is willing to pay. Some 60% of transfers without a fee (NB.
87.7% of transfers do not involve a fee) come with an employment contract
of one year or less. Another 20% of players involved in these transfers sign
a contract of up to two years. The likelihood of a contract longer than four
years is close to minimal, which is quite similar for transfers involving fees of
less than USD 0.5 million. The picture is reversed, however, when the transfer
fee is above USD 1 million.

Figure 22: Distribution of contract duration by total transfer fee in USD (2021)

No fee >500k-1m >5m-10m

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Transfer fee (USD)

>0-500k >1m-5m >10m

60%
Percentage of contracts

40%

20%

0%
>0-6 >6-12 >1-2 years >2-3 years >3-4 years >4 years
months months

Contract duration
19

NATIONALITY

Players of 179 different nationalities were involved in international transfers in

2021, contributing to the strong and vibrant football ecosystem all over the
globe. The top ten nationalities alone accounted for more than 40% of all
international transfers in 2021.

Figure 23: Top 25 player nationalities by number of transfers (2021) 1,749

international
Top ten Next 15
transfers of
Brazilian players in
2021

Figure 24: Top ten player nationalities by number of transfers (2021)

$TC\KNKCP 1,749

Argentinian 896

$TKVKUJ 837

French 772
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Colombian 653

Nigerian 624

Spanish 537

)JCPCKCP 456

Serbian 446

Dutch 408
20

Figure 25: Number of transfers (2012-2021) for 2021’s top five nationalities
by number of transfers

Player nationality Argentinian $TKVKUJ French

$TC\KNKCP Colombian

2,000

1,500
Number of transfers

1,000

500

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

In 2021, for the first time, the list of top ten nationalities in terms of the total
spending on transfer fees was not headed by Brazilian but by French players,
with a total of USD 643.6 million.

Figure 26: Top 25 player nationalities by total spending on transfer fees in

USD (2021)

Top ten Next 15

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
21

Figure 27: Top ten player nationalities by total spending on transfer fees in
USD (2021)

French 643.6m

468.4m
USD
$TC\KNKCP

643.6m
Spanish 307.2m

Argentinian 292.6m
spent on transfers
of French players
$TKVKUJ 286.5m

Dutch 258.7m

$GNIKCP 245.9m

Portuguese 188.8m

Croatian 146.3m

Danish 136.9m

In 2021, the spending on Brazilian players, which has been decreasing since
2018, fell for the third year in a row. After a severe dip in 2020, spending on
French players recovered but still remained below the levels of 2019.

Figure 28: Total spending on transfer fees (2012-2021) for 2021’s top five
nationalities by spending on transfer fees in USD

Player nationality Argentinian $TKVKUJ Spanish

$TC\KNKCP French

1.0
bn
Total spending on transfer fees (USD)

0.8
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

bn

0.6
bn

0.4
bn

0.2
bn

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
22

Transfers by confederation

There was relatively good balance between the number of incoming and
outgoing transfers for both European and South American clubs, but
only European clubs kept this balance between the transfer fees paid and
received, whereas clubs from CONMEBOL received more than seven times
more than they spent. Clubs from the AFC also spent more than 150% more
than they received. Clubs from Concacaf and the AFC spent and received
similar amounts, but Concacaf had significantly fewer incoming and outgoing
transfers.
8,439
transfers between
Figure 29: Transfers and transfer fees, by confederation (2021) clubs within UEFA

Outgoing transfers +PEQOKPIVTCPUHGTU Confederation Receipts from transfer fees Spending on transfer fees
(USD) (USD)

10,366 10,669 UEFA 4,097.5m 4,367.5m

2,578 2,297 C10/'$1. 554.0m 77.3m

1,719 2,052 AFC 71.1m 197.7m

2,392 1,786 CAF 65.0m 14.8m

1,000 1,257 Concacaf 77.1m 207.3m

13 7 OFC 0 0

Figure 30: Number of international transfers and total spending on transfer

fees in USD, by confederation (2021)

Engaging confederation

AFC CAF Concacaf CONMEBOL OFC UEFA

834 199 20 165 4 497

AFC
40.3m - 1.2m 0.2m - 29.4m
Releasing confederation

335 1,346 20 28 663

CAF -
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

9.1m 9.4m 0.8m - 45.7m

36 12 417 255 280
Concacaf -
0.4m - 14.2m 3.0m 59.4m
207 10 460 1,114 787
CONMEBOL -
38.5m - 112.5m 55.1m 347.9m
6 2 2 3
OFC - -
- - - -
634 219 338 733 3 8,439
UEFA
109.5m 5.4m 78.6m 18.9m - 3,885.1m
23

Transfers by association

Once again, Brazil was the association with the highest number of incoming
transfers and the second-highest number of outgoing transfers, topped only
by the number of outgoing transfers from England. Although five African
nationalities (Cameroonian, Ivorian, Ghanaian, Nigerian and Senegalese)
appeared in the top 25 player nationalities, there were no African member
associations in the top 25 engaging associations in 2021, and only Nigeria
was among the top 25 releasing associations. The numbers for transfers and
transfer fees for all member associations can be found in the annexe starting
784
incoming transfers
on page 62.
to Brazil
Figure 31: Top 25 associations by number of incoming transfers (2021)

Top ten Next 15

Figure 32: Top ten associations by number of incoming transfers (2021)

$TC\KN 784

Portugal 745
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Spain 581

England 563

)GTOCP[ 448

+VCN[ 406

France 405

Turkey 402

)TGGEG 344

Argentina 338
24

Figure 33: Top 25 associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Top ten Next 15

885
outgoing transfers
from England

Figure 34: Top ten associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

England 885

$TC\KN 820

Portugal 707

Spain 686

France 570

)GTOCP[ 476
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

+VCN[ 457

Argentina 449

Colombia 405

$GNIKWO 371
25

Figure 35: Top ten transfer streams by number of transfers (2021)

From To Transfers
Brazil Portugal 274
Portugal Brazil 200
Germany Austria 59
Spain Andorra 57
Spain Portugal 56
France Belgium 54
Belgium France 54
England Spain 54
Austria Germany 53
Germany Turkey 53

The table excludes transfer streams within the United Kingdom.

The top ten changes drastically when considering the spending on transfer
fees, however, with European member associations occupying almost all of
the positions except number 7 (USA). In 2021, the top 25 also included three
member associations from the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates and Qatar) as well as China PR and Japan. In 2021, English clubs paid
transfer fees totalling USD 1,386.2 million, predominantly for players from
clubs within Europe.

Figure 36: Top 25 associations by spending on transfer fees in USD (2021)

Top ten Next 15

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
26

Figure 37: Top ten associations by spending on transfer fees in USD (2021)

England 1,386.2m

+VCN[ 667.7m
USD
1.39bn
France 511.8m

)GTOCP[ 451.9m
spent by English
Spain 347.8m clubs
$GNIKWO 179.9m

USA 159.9m

Russia 131.2m

Turkey 107.2m

Portugal 100.2m

Only five of 2021’s top 25 associations in terms of total receipts from

transfer fees came from outside Europe. There were no member associations
from Africa, and only Japan from Asia. Brazil had the biggest share within
CONMEBOL and can be found in the top ten, together with Argentina.

Figure 38: Top 25 associations by receipts from transfer fees in USD (2021)

Top ten Next 15

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

27

The English FA, whose clubs received a total of USD 548.8 million, topped
the list ahead of the French FA in second, with Italy in third and Germany in
fourth. The difference between these four associations’ figures was relatively
small, however, with England and Germany just USD 25.8 million apart.

Figure 39: Top ten associations by receipts from transfer fees in USD (2021)
USD
England 548.8m 548.8m
received by
France 543.3m
English clubs
+VCN[ 540.4m

)GTOCP[ 523.0m

Spain 342.4m

$TC\KN 293.2m

Netherlands 233.5m

$GNIKWO 210.8m

Portugal 204.4m

Argentina 154.8m

Figure 40: Top ten transfer streams by total transfer fees in USD (2021)

Association Association Total transfer

releasing engaging fees (USD)
Italy England 257.8m
Germany England 249.0m
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Spain England 227.9m

England Italy 207.8m
France England 198.7m
Italy France 138.8m
France Italy 84.6m
England Spain 82.0m
France Germany 79.7m
France Spain 71.9m
28

The scatter plot in Figure 41 shows how clubs from different member
associations performed in respect of transfer fees. The majority of associations
can be found above the diagonal line, which means that their clubs received
more for outgoing transfers than they spent on incoming transfers.

Figure 41: Distribution of associations by spending on and receipts from

transfer fees in USD (2021)

Confederation AFC CAF Concacaf C10/'$1. UEFA

$TC\KN France Spain England

+VCN[
CroatiaAustria $GNIKWO
100m
Colombia Argentina Denmark
Norway USA
Ecuador $WNICTKC
Mali Uruguay JapanSYKV\GTNCPF
)JCPC Korea Republic +UTCGN
Finland China PRUkraine
Nigeria Latvia
7\DGMKUVCP +TCP Egypt
Cameroon Algeria
$QUPKCCPF*GT\GIQXKPC Saudi Arabia
1m $WTMKPCFaso
Australia South Africa
Malawi Luxembourg
)WKPGC Malaysia
*QPIKong Zambia
Receipts from transfer fees (USD)

Kuwait Libya
Canada
$CJTCKP
Moldova
$QVUYCPC
10k Jordan +PFKC
+PFQPGUKC

Trinidad and Tobago

100

$GPKP Vietnam +TCS Sudan Singapore Qatar

0
0 1 100 10k 1m 100m
Spending on transfer fees (USD)
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
29

Club characteristics

The vast majority (3,101) of the 4,544 clubs involved in transfers in 2021 only
engaged players. Nevertheless, a significant number of clubs (1,233) not only
engaged new players but also released players, whereas only very few clubs
completed at least one outgoing transfer but no incoming transfers at all.
Most clubs made more than just one international transfer, with a significant
number transferring more than six players in 2021.

Figure 42: Number of clubs by type of transfer activity (2021)

Only releasing 210 (4.6%)

$QVJGPICIKPI
and releasing
1,233 (27.1%)

4,544
Clubs involved

Only engaging 3,101 (68.2%)

Figure 43: Number of clubs by their number of incoming and outgoing

transfers (2021)

2,072

Clubs by incoming transfers

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Clubs by outgoing transfers

1,191

761
628 606

275
142
55 35 12
1 transfer 2-5 transfers 6-10 transfers 11-20 transfers >20 transfers
30

A total of 839 clubs spent money on at least one incoming international

transfer in 2021, and some 963 clubs received a fee for an international
transfer. In terms of the total amounts in 2021, the majority of clubs that
completed transfers with fees both spent and received no more than
USD 1 million. Clubs with spending or receipts of above USD 50 million only
represented a small minority of less than 4%.

Figure 44: Number of clubs by total value of their international transfer fees
in USD (2021)
839
clubs spent money
Clubs by total spending on transfer fees on international
343
Clubs by total receipts from transfer fees
transfers
289
258

222
211
184

86
64
51 44
29
21

>0 - 10k >10k - 100k >100k - 1m >1m - 10m >10m - 50m >50m
Club's total transfer fees (USD)

The number of clubs with total spending on or receipts from transfer fees
of at least USD 1 million fell in 2021 compared to previous years. However,
the number of clubs with transfer fees of less than USD 1 million increased
compared to 2020 but still remained below 2019 levels.

Figure 45: Number of clubs by spending on and receipts from transfer fees
in USD over the years

672
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

599 588 596

577
554 Clubs receiving
521 less than 1m
508
Number of clubs

497 507
Clubs spending
less than 1m
416 417
401
377 367
Clubs receiving
at least 1m
370
332 345 346 Clubs spending
318 at least 1m

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

31

When comparing individual clubs’ spending on and receipts from transfer fees,

58.4%
the majority of clubs (58.4%) spent less on transfer fees than they received.
This tendency was particularly strong in CAF and CONMEBOL, where 80.5%
and 84.7% respectively spent less than they received.
of clubs with
Figure 46: Distribution of clubs by spending on and receipts from transfer
fees in USD (2021); bubble size represents the number of incoming transfers
transfers against
payments received
more than they
Confederation AFC CAF Concacaf C10/'$1. UEFA
spent

100m

1m
Receipts from transfer fees (USD)

10k

100

0
0 1 100 10k 1m 100m
Spending on transfer fees (USD)

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

32

Top clubs by spending on transfer fees

The following pages present the confederations’ top clubs in terms of their
spending on transfer fees and the number of outgoing transfers. Due to the
small number of transfers involving clubs from the OFC (seven incoming and
13 outgoing transfers in 2021), only clubs from UEFA, CONMEBOL, Concacaf,
the AFC and CAF are shown here.

Figure 47: Top 20 clubs from UEFA by spending on transfer fees (2021)

Club
Manchester United FC (England)
Chelsea FC (England)
RB Leipzig (Germany)
ROMA SPA (Italy)
Arsenal FC (England)
Tottenham Hotspur FC (England)
Paris St Germain FC (France)
Manchester City FC (England)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany)
MILAN SPA (Italy)
OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE (France)
JUVENTUS SPA (Italy)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Norwich City FC (England)
Brighton and Hove Albion FC (England)
Villarreal FC (Spain)
AS Monaco FC (France)
Aston Villa FC (England)
Leicester City FC (England)
Liverpool FC (England)

Figure 48: Top ten clubs from CONMEBOL by spending on transfer fees
(2021)
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Club
Red Bull Bragantino - SP (Brazil)
Atlético Mineiro - MG (Brazil)
Grêmio - RS (Brazil)
Palmeiras - SP (Brazil)
São Paulo - SP (Brazil)
CA River Plate (Argentina)
Santos - SP (Brazil)
Athletico Paranaense - PR (Brazil)
Club Olimpia (Paraguay)
CA Boca Juniors (Argentina)
33

Figure 49: Top ten clubs from Concacaf by spending on transfer fees (2021)

Club
Atlanta United FC (USA)
FC Cincinnati (USA)
Austin FC (USA)
New York City FC (USA)
LA Galaxy (USA)
Whitecaps FC (Canada)
New York Red Bulls (USA)
Nashville SC (USA)
Chicago Fire FC (USA)
Orlando City SC (USA)

Figure 50: Top ten clubs from the AFC by spending on transfer fees (2021)

Club
Al Hilal SFC (Saudi Arabia)
Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)
Al Duhail SC (Qatar)
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Shandong Taishan FC (China PR)
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia)

Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)
Shenzhen FC (China PR)
Al Ain (United Arab Emirates)
Changchun Yatai FC (China PR)
34

Figure 51: Top ten clubs from CAF by spending on transfer fees (2021)

Club
Esperance Sp. De Tunis (Tunisia)
Pyramids FC (Egypt)
Ahly Tripoli (Libya)
Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa)
RS Berkane (Morocco)
USM Alger (Algeria)
Al Hilal Khartoum (Sudan)
Coca Cola Club (Egypt)
Simba SC (Tanzania)
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

35

Top clubs by number of outgoing transfers

In order to best reflect the training performance of releasing clubs, these lists
not only include outgoing transfers with a transfer agreement between the
releasing and the engaging club but also transfers involving players out of
contract. Such transfers typically do not actively involve the releasing club, but
they are nevertheless testament to the releasing club’s success in developing
football talent.

Figure 52: Top ten clubs from UEFA by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

Manchester City FC (England) 41
Portimonense SC (Portugal) 34
Celtic FC (Scotland) 32
R.S.C. ANDERLECHT (Belgium) 32
SL Benfica (Portugal) 32
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (England) 30
AS Monaco FC (France) 29
FK Spartaks (Latvia) 29
GNK Dinamo - Zagreb (Croatia) 29
Nogometni klub Osijek s.d.d. (Croatia) 29

Figure 53: Top ten clubs from CONMEBOL by number of outgoing transfers
(2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

CA Boca Juniors (Argentina) 19
Grêmio - RS (Brazil) 18
Independiente Medellin (Colombia) 18
Palmeiras - SP (Brazil) 18
Club Olimpia (Paraguay) 17
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Atletico Nacional (Colombia) 16

Fluminense - RJ (Brazil) 16
Atlético Mineiro - MG (Brazil) 15
Botafogo - RJ (Brazil) 15
CA Newells Old Boys (Argentina) 15
36

Figure 54: Top ten clubs from Concacaf by number of outgoing transfers
(2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

Whitecaps FC (Canada) 16
Club Atletico de San Luis (Mexico) 14
CDE (Panama) 13
CAI (Panama) 12
Puebla FC (Mexico) 11
FC Dallas (USA) 10
Gallos Blancos de Queretaro (Mexico) 10
San Francisco FC (Panama) 10
Club Atlético Morelia (Mexico) 9
CF Montréal (Canada) 8

Figure 55: Top ten clubs from the AFC by number of outgoing transfers
(2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

FC ISTIKLOL (Tajikistan) 11
Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) 10
Kazma SC (Kuwait) 10
Al Ahed (Lebanon) 9
Al Faisaly (Jordan) 9
Al Raed (Saudi Arabia) 9
Damak (Saudi Arabia) 9
JAHRA SC (Kuwait) 9
Kerala Blasters (India) 9
Newcastle Jets FC (Australia) 9

Figure 56: Top ten clubs from CAF by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Club Sportif Sfaxien (Tunisia) 15

DREA (Ghana) 14
Union Sportive Tataouine (Tunisia) 14
Guidars FC (Mali) 13
AS PERFORMANCE DE KALABANCORO (Mali) 11
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco) 11
Accra Lions FC (Ghana) 10
AS Kaloum (Guinea) 10
Esperance Sp. De Tunis (Tunisia) 10
Union Sp. Ben Guerdane (Tunisia) 10
37

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Overview
Women’s professional football is continuing to go from strength to strength.
As the registration of international transfers in women’s professional football
now follows the same procedure as the men’s game, i.e. through FIFA TMS,
consistent growth is being witnessed. Although numbers are significantly
smaller and the number of transfers and fees are considerably lower in
comparison to the equivalent figures in men’s professional football, there is
112
FIFA member
still a clear upwards trend in the women’s game, even during the time of the
COVID-19 pandemic. It is probably safe to say that if the pandemic had not associations
happened, an even sharper rise in the number of transfers and a much higher involved in
increase in transfer fees would have been witnessed. international
Figure 57: Member associations engaging and/or releasing players around
transfers in
the world (2021); bubble size represents the number of completed transfers women’s
professional
football

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

38

There were 1,304 international transfers in 2021, an increase of 26.2%

compared to the previous year.

Figure 58: Total number of international transfers by year

1,304

1,033
1,304
international
838
transfers in 2021
696 –
26.2% more than
in 2020

2018 2019 2020 2021

The 1,208 players involved in these transfers represented 113 different

nationalities, a new record. The number of member associations that
engaged or released at least one player in 2021 also reached a new high,
namely 112 of FIFA’s 211 member associations. At the same time, the number
of active clubs increased by an impressive 19.3%, from 347 in 2020 to 414
in 2021, which indicates not only the growth of women’s football, with an
ever-increasing number of clubs eager to sign foreign players, but also the
dynamic development of clubs that are now producing more professionals.

Figure 59: Number of member associations and clubs involved in international

transfers by year
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Associations involved Clubs involved

414

347

275

220
112
99
88
74

2018 2019 2020 2021

39

In 2021, the peak in transfer activity in July and August was particularly
pronounced compared to previous years, with 43.0% of all transfers taking
place in these two months.

Figure 60: International transfers by month

2021

2020

326

235

184 188
159
149
166 102
75 118 109 78
91 46 40 37
73 34

26 38 25
5 14 19

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

As in men’s football, clubs also tend to complete transfers well before the
end of the registration period in the women’s game, with more than 60%
of transfers concluded with at least two weeks to spare. This demonstrates
well-planned squad management and a timely reaction to the clubs’ needs.

Figure 61: Transfers by time before the end of the registration period (2021)

474

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

323

137
115
103
74 78

Outside the Deadline 1-3 days 4-7 days 1-2 weeks >2-4 >4 weeks
registration day before before before weeks before
period before

Time before the end of the registration period

40

TRANSFER TYPES

Out-of-contract players accounted for most international transfers in 2021,

an impressive 87.3%. For the first time since the introduction of TMS to the
women’s game, permanent transfers were more frequent than loans, with a
share of 5.0% in 2021 compared to 3.9% in 2020.

Figure 62: Distribution of transfer types (2021)

4.4%
3.1%
87.3%
of all transfers
5.1% involved
out-of-contract
Transfer type
players
Out of contract

Permanent

Loan

Return from loan

87.3%

Some 43.1% of the 1,139 players who transferred out of contract did not
have a previous professional football contract at all, i.e. they were playing as
amateurs for their previous clubs. Another 39.9% of these players moved
internationally after the expiry of their previous contract. In 16.4% of
out-of-contract transfers, the player and her previous club mutually agreed to
terminate the contract, whereas contracts were unilaterally terminated in only
0.6% of such transfers. These figures do not represent a significant change
compared to 2020.

Figure 63: Distribution of the reasons why players moved out of contract
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

(2021)
0.6%
16.4% 43.1%

Out-of-contract reason
No previous contract

Contract expired

Mutually agreed
termination
Unilateral termination

39.9%
41

TRANSFER FEES

The dynamic growth of international transfer fees in women’s professional

football continued in 2021. With an increase of 72.8% compared to 2020,
the annual outlay for transfer fees in 2021 was USD 2.1 million, a new record.

Figure 64: Transfer fees by year (USD)

USD
2.1m
2.1m

spent on transfer
fees
1.2m
–
72.8% more than
in 2020
0.7m
0.6m

2018 2019 2020 2021

There were 58 transfers with fees in 2021. Although the overwhelming

majority of transfers still did not involve a fee, the proportion of transfers that
did increased to a new high of 4.4%.

Figure 65: Number and share of transfers with fees by year

Transfers with fees % of all transfers

58
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

36
4.4%
31

22 3.7%

3.5%

3.2%

2018 2019 2020 2021

42

Top transfers in 2021

Figure 66 shows the five transfers that generated the highest transfer fees
in 2021. These five alone accounted for almost 60% of the total spending
in 2021.

Figure 66: Top five transfers by total transfer fee (2021)

Player From To
Hanna FC Rosengård Everton Ladies
BENNISON (Sweden) (England)
Arsenal Women FC VfL Wolfsburg
Jill ROORD
(England) (Germany)
Paris St Germain FC
Alana COOK OL Reign (USA)
(France)
Damaris Everton Ladies OLYMPIQUE
EGURROLA (England) LYONNAIS (France)
OLYMPIQUE Arsenal Women FC
Nikita PARRIS
LYONNAIS (France) (England)

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

43

Player characteristics

PLAYER AGE
USD
In 2021, the vast majority of players (88.7%) transferred were between the
ages of 18 and 29, with the 18-23 and 24-29 age groups almost equally well
represented. Players in their 30s represented just over 10%, and in only 0.5%
1.3m
spent on transfers
of all transfers was the player younger than 18. This was also reflected in the
breakdown of transfer fees paid per age category. of players aged
24 to 29
Figure 67: Number of transfers by player age (2021)

580 576

132

6 10

<18 years 18-23 years 24-29 years 30-35 years >35 years
old old old old old

Figure 68: Spending on transfer fees in USD by player age (2021)

1.3m

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

0.8m

<0.1m
0.0m 0.0m

<18 years 18-23 years 24-29 years 30-35 years >35 years
old old old old old
44

Figure 69: Distribution of transfer types by player age (2021)

1.9%
3.8% 4.2%
5.5% 4.9%
4.9%

Ű[GCTU >23 years

88.9% 86.1%

Most transfers of professional female players in 2021 still came with contracts
with a duration of up to one year (62.7%), but the proportion of contracts
with longer durations increased from 32.2% in 2020 to 37.3%.

Figure 70: Distribution of contract duration by player age (2021)

60%

43.5%
Percentage of contracts

40% WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

27.2%

20%
19.2%

6.8%
2.8%
0.5%
0%
>0-6 >6-12 >1-2 >2-3 >3-4 >4 years
months months years years years
Contract duration
45

NATIONALITY

Once again, the USA dominated the list of top ten nationalities by the number
of transfers in 2021, with 17.9% of all transfers. Brazilian players were in
second place, followed by British players in third.

Figure 71: Top 25 player nationalities by number of transfers (2021)

234
international
Top ten Next 15
transfers of players
from the USA in
2021

Figure 72: Top ten player nationalities by number of transfers (2021)

USA 234

$TC\KNKCP 69

$TKVKUJ 48
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
Nigerian 41

Australian 39

Swedish 36

Canadian 35

Colombian 32

Danish 30

)GTOCP 30

+EGNCPFKE 30
46

Following exceptional growth in 2020, transfers of players from the USA

continued to grow in 2021, albeit at a slower rate than after the USA won the
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™. The only nationality among the top five
that fell in 2021 compared to 2020 was Brazilian.

Figure 73: Number of transfers (2018-2021) for 2021’s top five nationalities
by number of transfers

200
Number of transfers

150

100

50

2018 2019 2020 2021

Player nationality
$TC\KNKCP $TKVKUJ Canadian Swedish USA

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

47

Transfers by confederation

Clubs from UEFA member associations were once again the most active in
terms of engaging and releasing players in international transfers in 2021.
Three more European associations were involved in international transfers in
2021 than in 2020, meaning that 50 of UEFA’s 55 member associations were
involved. The number of European clubs actively involved in international
transfers rose from 244 in 2020 to 265 in 2021. CONMEBOL remained the
only confederation that saw all of its member associations participate, with
31 different clubs involved.
642
transfers between
Figure 74: Transfers and transfer fees, by confederation (2021) clubs within UEFA
Outgoing transfers +PEQOKPIVTCPUHGTU Confederation Receipts from transfer fees Spending on transfer fees
75& 75&

802 921 7'FA 2.0m 1.6m

179 131 Concacaf <0.1m 0.5m

140 101 CAF <0.1m 0

106 73 C10/'$1. 0.1m 0

73 70 AFC <0.1m 0.1m

4 8 OFC 0 0

As in previous years, most transfer activity in 2021 took place within UEFA,
with 642 transfers accounting for just under 50% of all transfers and 71.4%
of the total transfer fees paid in 2021. This was followed by transfers of players
moving from a Concacaf member association to a UEFA one (132 transfers),
and by those going in the opposite direction (92).

Figure 75: Number of international transfers and total spending on transfer

fees in USD, by confederation (2021)

Engaging confederation
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

AFC CAF Concacaf CONMEBOL OFC UEFA

13 6 6 8 40
Releasing confederation

AFC -
- - - - 22.2k
10 83 47
CAF - - -
- - 1.0k
11 4 25 6 132
Concacaf -
5.0k - 10.0k - 25.0k
5 8 35 58
CONMEBOL - -
- 98.0k - 11.8k
2 2
OFC - - - -
- -
28 14 92 26 642
UEFA -
60.3k - 378.5k - 1,525.4k
48

Transfers by association

Sweden was at the top of the list of associations with the most incoming
transfers in 2021 with 88 transfers, followed by Spain and the USA, each
with 87. For the first time ever, a CAF member association made the top ten,
with Morocco in eighth place. Detailed numbers for all member association
transfers can be found in the annexe starting on page 68.

Figure 76: Top 25 associations by number of incoming transfers (2021) 88

incoming transfers
Top ten Next 15 to Sweden

Figure 77: Top ten associations by number of incoming transfers (2021)

Sweden 88

Spain 87

USA 87
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Portugal 61

France 60

)GTOCP[ 57

'PINCPF 56

Morocco 54

+EGNCPF 50

+UTCGN 45
49

For outgoing transfers, the top ten was less balanced, with the USA leading
the way with a total of 136 followed by Spain on 82. Although the most
frequent transfer stream was that of players moving from Brazil to Portugal,
the leading role of the US Soccer Federation in women’s professional football
was underscored by its involvement in seven out of the top ten transfer
streams in 2021.

Figure 78: Top 25 associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021) 136

outgoing transfers
Top ten Next 15 from the USA

Figure 79: Top ten associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

USA 136

Spain 82

Sweden 72
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
+VCN[ 62

France 51

$TC\KN 47

'PINCPF 47

)GTOCP[ 45

+EGNCPF 44

Portugal 38
50

Figure 80: Top ten transfer streams by number of transfers (2021)

From To Transfers
Brazil Portugal 19
USA Mexico 17
Sweden
England
USA
USA
16
15
72
clubs from 26
France USA 15 associations
USA Israel 14 involved in
transfers with fees
USA Iceland 12
Italy Spain 12
Italy Switzerland 11
USA Sweden 11

The table excludes transfer streams within the United Kingdom.

A total of 72 clubs from 26 different associations were involved in transfers

with fees. In ten of these associations, clubs completed both incoming and
outgoing transfers with fees. In another ten associations, only outgoing
transfers involved a transfer fee, whereas in six associations there were clubs
that invested in transfer fees for incoming players but none that released a
player for a fee.

Figure 81: Associations with clubs engaging and/or releasing players against
transfer fees (2021)

$QVJGPICIKPI Only engaging Only releasing

and releasing against fees against fees against fees WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
51

Club characteristics

2021 saw a record number of clubs involved in international transfers,

with 67 more clubs taking the total to 414. The vast majority (82.6%) only
engaged players from abroad, whereas 14.0% both engaged and released
players internationally and the remaining 3.4% only released players. This
ratio appears less extreme in light of the fact that transfers of out-of-contract
players – with 87.3% making it by far the most frequent type – typically do
not actively involve the releasing club.

Figure 82: Number of clubs by type of transfer activity (2021)

1PN[TGNGCUKPI 

$QVJGPICIKPI
and releasing
 

414
Clubs involved

Only engaging
 

The majority of the 400 clubs that engaged players (68.8%) completed at
least two (and up to 19) incoming transfers in 2021, demonstrating their
increasing need for elite players. Nevertheless, a high number of clubs (125)
completed just one transfer in 2021.

Figure 83: Number of clubs by their number of incoming and outgoing

transfers (2021)
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

211
Clubs by incoming transfers

Clubs by outgoing transfers

125

57
45
25

2 7

1 transfer 2-5 transfers 6-10 transfers >10 transfers

52

For the majority of clubs, spending on transfer fees ranged between

USD 10,000 and USD 100,000, with only five clubs paying and six clubs
receiving amounts in excess of USD 100,000.

Figure 84: Number of clubs by total value of their international transfer fees
in USD (2021)

Clubs by total spending Clubs by total receipts

on transfer fees from transfer fees

24

21

16
14

6
5

>0 - 10k >10k - 100k >100k

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

53

Top clubs

Figure 85: Top ten clubs by number of incoming transfers (2021)

Club Incoming transfers

FC Lugano Femminile (Switzerland) 19
OL Reign (USA) 18
Orlando Pride (USA) 13
APOLLON LADIES (Cyprus) 12
ARIS LIMASSOL (Cyprus) 11
Celtic FC (Scotland) 11
F.C. FLEURY 91 (France) 11
ASJ SOYAUX-CHARENTE (France) 10
The Tiger Queens (Tanzania) 10
WFC Voshod (Ukraine) 10

Figure 86: Top ten clubs by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Club Outgoing transfers

BK Häcken FF (Sweden) 11
ÅLAND UNITED (Finland) 10
APOLLON LADIES (Cyprus) 10
FC Minsk (Belarus) 10
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS (France) 10
Atletico Madrid (Spain) 9
Orlando Pride (USA) 9
FC Hayasa (Armenia) 8
Fortuna Hjorring (Denmark) 8
Sporting CP (Portugal) 8 WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
54

AMATEUR FOOTBALL

Overview
2021 was the first full year in which international transfers of amateur players
had to be processed through FIFA TMS, as this was made mandatory on
1 July 2020. With 201 associations and more than 200 different nationalities
involved, international transfers of amateur players surpassed even the
dimensions recorded in the world of professional football. 35,367
international
Figure 87: Member associations engaging and/or releasing players around
the world (2021); bubble size represents the number of completed transfers transfers of
amateur players
completed in 2021

17,571
clubs
involved

201
In 2021, 17,571 clubs completed a total of 35,367 international transfers of
amateur players – over 80% more than in professional football. A total of
90.8% of amateur transfers involved male players.
FIFA member
associations
involved
AMATEUR FOOTBALL
55

Player characteristics
PLAYER AGE

Players between 18 and 23 were the best represented age group, with
44.2% of all transfers falling into this category. Players older than 35 were
only involved in 3.5% of all amateur transfers.

Figure 88: Number of transfers by player age (2021)

15,648

9,299

5,651

3,514

1,255

<18 years 18-23 years 24-29 years 30-35 years >35 years
old old old old old

AMATEUR FOOTBALL
56

NATIONALITY

Amateur players from France were involved in the most international transfers
in 2021 (3,318), followed by British players in second and Italians in third.
With the exception of the USA and Argentina, the top ten nationalities were
all European. There were no African nationalities in the top 25 and only one

3,318
Asian (Japanese).

Figure 89: Top 25 player nationalities by number of transfers (2021)

international
Top ten Next 15 transfers of French
players in 2021

Figure 90: Top ten player nationalities by number of transfers (2021)

French 3,318

British 2,200

Italian 1,925

Spanish 1,503

German 1,343

USA 1,294

Croatian 1,234

Argentinian 1,140
AMATEUR FOOTBALL

Polish 1,015

Ukrainian 964
57

Transfers by confederation

A total of 84.0% of all amateur players who moved across borders in 2021
went to play for a club in Europe, and most of them also moved from another
European association. Overall, players moved from one confederation to
another in 25.5% of all transfers, whereas most moved between associations
within the same confederation.

Figure 91: Transfers and associations and clubs involved, by confederation

(2021)
24,238
transfers between
Outgoing Incoming Confederation Associations Clubs
clubs within UEFA
transfers transfers involved involved
26,351 29,723 UEFA 55 14,891

2,566 2,006 Concacaf 30 668

1,460 1,630 AFC 44 890

2,836 1,226 CONMEBOL 10 743

1,828 521 CAF 51 268

326 261 OFC 11 111

Figure 92: Number of international transfers, by confederation (2021)

Engaging confederation

AFC CAF Concacaf CONMEBOL OFC UEFA

Releasing confederation

AFC 320 24 114 9 45 948

CAF 209 433 73 6 4 1,103
Concacaf 105 3 561 195 21 1,681
CONMEBOL 72 2 341 740 24 1,657
OFC 153 0 16 1 60 96
UEFA 771 59 901 275 107 24,238
AMATEUR FOOTBALL
58

Transfers by association

Germany led the way in both the number of incoming and outgoing transfers
of amateurs in 2021. There was only one non-European representative in
each top ten, namely the USA in both instances.

5,122
Figure 93: Top 25 associations by number of incoming transfers (2021)

Top ten Next 15

incoming transfers
to Germany

Figure 94: Top ten associations by number of incoming transfers (2021)

Germany 5,122

Spain 3,360

France 2,064

Austria 1,869

Italy 1,858

England 1,551

Switzerland 1,228

USA 1,197
AMATEUR FOOTBALL

Belgium 1,140

Poland 947
59

Figure 95: Top 25 associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Top ten Next 15

2,651
outgoing transfers
from Germany

Figure 96: Top ten associations by number of outgoing transfers (2021)

Germany 2,651

France 2,532

England 1,853

Spain 1,646

Italy 1,616

USA 1,514

Austria 1,131

Poland 966

Croatia 879

Belgium 878
AMATEUR FOOTBALL
60

Figure 97: Top ten transfer streams by number of transfers (2021)

From To Transfers
Poland Germany 529
France Belgium 516
France Switzerland 501
Germany Austria 436
Croatia Germany 397
France Luxembourg 362
USA Spain 347
France Germany 318
Belgium France 314
Italy Germany 299

The table excludes transfer streams within the United Kingdom.

AMATEUR FOOTBALL
61

Club characteristics

More than 60% of all clubs involved in international transfers of amateurs

welcomed exactly one new player from abroad to their squad in 2021. A still
sizable share of 32.5% of clubs saw between two and five players join, and
a total of just 53 clubs (less than 0.5%) completed more than 20 transfers in
2021.

Figure 98: Number of clubs by their number of incoming transfers (2021)

10,960

5,719

641
196 55
1 transfer 2-5 transfers 6-10 transfers 11-20 transfers >20 transfers

AMATEUR FOOTBALL
62

ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Men’s professional football

The amounts for spending on and receipts from transfer fees in the table below are only shown for associations
with at least five incoming and outgoing transfers with transfer fees respectively.

Figure 99: Number of incoming and outgoing transfers, clubs involved and total spending and receipts by
association, men’s professional football (2021)

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Albania (UEFA) 172 118 23 7 n/a n/a
Algeria (CAF) 33 59 15 4 1.0m n/a
Andorra (UEFA) 100 13 10 1 n/a n/a
Angola (CAF) 17 19 6 2 n/a n/a
Antigua and Barbuda
0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
(Concacaf)
Argentina (CONMEBOL) 338 449 102 43 14.2m 154.8m
Armenia (UEFA) 134 101 13 3 .7m n/a
Australia (AFC) 89 79 21 10 n/a 1.1m
Austria (UEFA) 182 182 31 16 57.8m 110.2m
Azerbaijan (UEFA) 68 59 12 3 .7m n/a
Bahamas (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Bahrain (AFC) 78 46 20 3 n/a n/a
Bangladesh (AFC) 44 20 13 0 n/a n/a
Belarus (UEFA) 133 145 25 10 3.6m 1.2m
Belgium (UEFA) 330 370 36 23 179.9m 210.8m
Belize (Concacaf) 7 14 2 0 n/a n/a
Benin (CAF) 119 35 34 2 n/a n/a
Bhutan (AFC) 0 4 0 0 n/a n/a
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Bolivia (CONMEBOL) 111 81 32 4 .5m n/a

Bosnia and Herzegovina
108 138 18 10 n/a 2.7m
(UEFA)
Botswana (CAF) 18 12 7 1 n/a n/a
Brazil (CONMEBOL) 778 820 320 82 52.4m 293.2m
Brunei Darussalam (AFC) 2 2 1 0 n/a n/a
Bulgaria (UEFA) 141 118 26 8 10.2m 13.8m
Burkina Faso (CAF) 36 45 11 9 n/a 1.0m
Burundi (CAF) 57 22 17 3 n/a n/a
63

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Cabo Verde (CAF) 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a
Cambodia (AFC) 36 7 12 0 n/a n/a
Cameroon (CAF) 36 152 16 17 n/a 2.1m
Canada (Concacaf) 105 84 11 5 17.5m n/a
Central African Republic (CAF) 0 2 0 1 n/a n/a
Chad (CAF) 0 4 0 0 n/a n/a
Chile (CONMEBOL) 135 142 40 14 1.8m 7.9m
China PR (AFC) 85 88 32 8 38.7m n/a
Chinese Taipei (AFC) 14 3 5 0 n/a n/a
Colombia (CONMEBOL) 172 405 34 18 1.1m 37.7m
Comoros (CAF) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Congo (CAF) 2 24 1 4 n/a n/a
Congo DR (CAF) 39 69 10 4 n/a 1.1m
Costa Rica (Concacaf) 94 53 27 7 n/a 2.5m
Côte d'Ivoire (CAF) 56 148 17 18 n/a 2.0m
Croatia (UEFA) 211 259 21 11 14.4m 74.2m
Cuba (Concacaf) 0 7 0 0 n/a n/a
Cyprus (UEFA) 266 180 38 7 11.5m 5.5m
Czech Republic (UEFA) 141 175 31 25 12.6m 30.6m
Denmark (UEFA) 205 251 28 22 43.4m 131.0m
Djibouti (CAF) 24 6 10 0 n/a n/a
Dominica (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Dominican Republic
78 28 10 0 n/a n/a
(Concacaf)
Ecuador (CONMEBOL) 218 131 81 8 n/a 15.4m
Egypt (CAF) 74 99 38 9 6.3m 4.9m
El Salvador (Concacaf) 74 43 24 1 n/a n/a
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

England (UEFA) 563 885 132 69 1’386.2m 548.8m

Equatorial Guinea (CAF) 0 17 0 0 n/a n/a
Eritrea (CAF) 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a
Estonia (UEFA) 63 36 13 4 .1m .9m
Eswatini (CAF) 39 8 14 0 n/a n/a
Ethiopia (CAF) 30 15 13 0 n/a n/a
Faroe Islands (UEFA) 36 17 10 2 n/a n/a
64

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Finland (UEFA) 136 118 28 10 n/a 3.1m
France (UEFA) 405 570 108 43 511.8m 543.3m
Gabon (CAF) 1 10 1 0 n/a n/a
Gambia (CAF) 7 48 2 10 n/a 1.5m
Georgia (UEFA) 119 87 27 3 n/a n/a
Germany (UEFA) 448 476 135 38 451.9m 523.0m
Ghana (CAF) 109 190 41 38 .2m 6.0m
Gibraltar (UEFA) 30 20 6 1 n/a n/a
Greece (UEFA) 344 247 43 12 33.1m 60.3m
Guam (AFC) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Guatemala (Concacaf) 100 57 28 1 n/a n/a
Guinea (CAF) 17 64 6 6 n/a .3m
Guinea-Bissau (CAF) 0 9 0 2 n/a n/a
Guyana (Concacaf) 0 4 0 0 n/a n/a
Haiti (Concacaf) 0 10 0 1 n/a n/a
Honduras (Concacaf) 93 56 26 2 n/a n/a
Hong Kong (AFC) 12 25 6 2 n/a n/a
Hungary (UEFA) 141 128 30 15 16.5m 11.9m
Iceland (UEFA) 84 50 26 13 n/a 3.7m
India (AFC) 100 96 34 3 n/a n/a
Indonesia (AFC) 67 44 21 8 n/a n/a
Iran (AFC) 22 36 11 2 n/a n/a
Iraq (AFC) 124 58 30 0 n/a n/a
Israel (UEFA) 112 104 30 11 4.9m 15.4m
Italy (UEFA) 406 457 66 42 667.7m 540.4m
Jamaica (Concacaf) 19 24 8 10 n/a .1m
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Japan (AFC) 110 164 44 22 31.2m 30.6m

Jordan (AFC) 43 52 15 3 n/a n/a
Kazakhstan (UEFA) 156 126 21 2 1.7m 7.4m
Kenya (CAF) 30 38 12 5 n/a n/a
Korea Republic (AFC) 90 76 22 8 5.9m 9.8m
Kosovo (UEFA) 102 76 22 5 n/a n/a
Kuwait (AFC) 59 67 14 2 .3m n/a
Kyrgyz Republic (AFC) 47 25 8 0 n/a n/a
65

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Laos (AFC) 3 9 1 0 n/a n/a
Latvia (UEFA) 117 149 13 10 1.5m 4.3m
Lebanon (AFC) 22 32 8 2 n/a n/a
Lesotho (CAF) 2 4 2 0 n/a n/a
Liberia (CAF) 3 10 2 1 n/a n/a
Libya (CAF) 151 39 24 1 1.2m n/a
Lithuania (UEFA) 78 51 12 2 n/a n/a
Luxembourg (UEFA) 68 40 14 5 n/a .4m
Macau (AFC) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Madagascar (CAF) 0 6 0 0 n/a n/a
Malawi (CAF) 4 4 3 2 n/a n/a
Malaysia (AFC) 75 53 16 1 n/a n/a
Maldives (AFC) 12 20 6 0 n/a n/a
Mali (CAF) 8 93 6 14 n/a 20.1m
Malta (UEFA) 168 90 42 3 n/a n/a
Mauritania (CAF) 24 35 6 2 n/a n/a
Mauritius (CAF) 10 5 7 0 n/a n/a
Mexico (Concacaf) 192 201 50 19 29.7m 14.1m
Moldova (UEFA) 78 83 12 4 1.4m n/a
Mongolia (AFC) 10 8 5 0 n/a n/a
Montenegro (UEFA) 65 51 17 3 n/a n/a
Morocco (CAF) 104 79 32 7 2.0m 9.1m
Mozambique (CAF) 9 17 6 2 n/a n/a
Myanmar (AFC) 0 16 0 0 n/a n/a
Namibia (CAF) 15 7 6 0 n/a n/a
Nepal (AFC) 32 4 10 0 n/a n/a
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Netherlands (UEFA) 262 349 40 28 91.4m 233.5m

New Caledonia (OFC) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
New Zealand (OFC) 7 11 1 0 n/a n/a
Nicaragua (Concacaf) 59 31 15 0 n/a n/a
Niger (CAF) 45 35 15 2 n/a n/a
Nigeria (CAF) 55 358 30 55 n/a 2.8m
Northern Ireland (UEFA) 45 29 13 5 .3m .3m
Norway (UEFA) 168 142 51 22 7.7m 37.9m
Oman (AFC) 119 75 30 2 n/a n/a
66

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Palestine (AFC) 18 3 6 0 n/a n/a
Panama (Concacaf) 98 68 19 10 n/a n/a
Papua New Guinea (OFC) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
Paraguay (CONMEBOL) 147 151 29 12 6.1m 18.6m
Peru (CONMEBOL) 106 89 29 4 n/a 3.3m
Philippines (AFC) 18 7 5 0 n/a n/a
Poland (UEFA) 281 201 78 18 14.6m 31.3m
Portugal (UEFA) 745 707 131 34 100.2m 204.4m
Puerto Rico (Concacaf) 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a
Qatar (AFC) 54 57 17 1 21.4m n/a
Republic of Ireland (UEFA) 90 71 16 8 .1m 4.2m
Republic of North Macedonia
83 80 14 5 n/a 1.4m
(UEFA)
Romania (UEFA) 249 191 54 12 1.7m 38.6m
Russia (UEFA) 259 255 76 22 131.2m 91.0m
Rwanda (CAF) 68 36 15 2 n/a n/a
San Marino (UEFA) 0 3 0 0 n/a n/a
Saudi Arabia (AFC) 224 200 63 12 54.4m 2.7m
Scotland (UEFA) 242 183 44 13 27.5m 100.3m
Senegal (CAF) 70 82 19 15 n/a 3.4m
Serbia (UEFA) 223 242 39 13 3.7m 16.9m
Sierra Leone (CAF) 0 17 0 5 n/a n/a
Singapore (AFC) 30 12 7 0 n/a n/a
Slovakia (UEFA) 188 154 24 13 3.4m 20.6m
Slovenia (UEFA) 121 130 19 11 2.1m 9.3m
Somalia (CAF) 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a
South Africa (CAF) 72 73 24 5 1.2m n/a
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

South Sudan (CAF) 0 7 0 0 n/a n/a

Spain (UEFA) 581 686 166 40 347.8m 342.4m
Sri Lanka (AFC) 2 2 1 0 n/a n/a
St Kitts and Nevis (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
St Lucia (Concacaf) 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a
Sudan (CAF) 26 14 11 0 .8m n/a
Sweden (UEFA) 247 227 67 27 10.9m 47.2m
Switzerland (UEFA) 190 177 27 17 29.8m 14.4m
Syria (AFC) 11 34 8 2 n/a n/a
Tajikistan (AFC) 55 25 10 0 n/a n/a
Tanzania (CAF) 64 39 16 4 .6m 2.0m
67

Spending Receipts
Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing
Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
on fees from fees
(USD) (USD)
Thailand (AFC) 74 74 28 2 n/a n/a
Timor-Leste (AFC) 1 0 1 0 n/a n/a
Togo (CAF) 90 73 20 3 n/a n/a
Trinidad and Tobago
1 8 1 2 n/a n/a
(Concacaf)
Tunisia (CAF) 123 147 25 11 1.3m 3.4m
Turkey (UEFA) 402 281 68 21 107.2m 33.9m
Turkmenistan (AFC) 9 0 2 0 n/a n/a
Turks and Caicos Islands
0 1 0 0 n/a n/a
(Concacaf)
Uganda (CAF) 30 30 18 1 n/a n/a
Ukraine (UEFA) 217 174 51 10 56.8m 12.9m
United Arab Emirates (AFC) 146 94 33 2 41.8m n/a
Uruguay (CONMEBOL) 163 217 29 16 n/a 21.5m
USA (Concacaf) 337 303 74 29 159.9m 59.9m
Uzbekistan (AFC) 83 77 27 3 n/a n/a
Venezuela (CONMEBOL) 123 93 29 14 n/a 1.0m
Vietnam (AFC) 20 17 7 0 n/a n/a
Wales (UEFA) 166 111 21 5 18.9m 9.4m
Yemen (AFC) 12 6 8 2 n/a n/a
Zambia (CAF) 51 55 20 4 n/a n/a
Zimbabwe (CAF) 18 24 9 3 n/a n/a

ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

68

Women’s professional football

Figure 100: Number of incoming and outgoing transfers and clubs involved by association, women’s
professional football (2021)

Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing

Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
Albania (UEFA) 9 3 1 0
Argentina (CONMEBOL) 10 9 8 4
Armenia (UEFA) 11 11 2 0
Australia (AFC) 21 37 6 2
Austria (UEFA) 6 11 2 0
Azerbaijan (UEFA) 0 4 0 0
Belarus (UEFA) 15 17 5 0
Belgium (UEFA) 6 5 4 0
Benin (CAF) 4 3 1 0
Bolivia (CONMEBOL) 2 0 2 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina (UEFA) 0 4 0 0
Botswana (CAF) 0 3 0 0
Brazil (CONMEBOL) 29 47 15 1
Bulgaria (UEFA) 0 3 0 0
Burkina Faso (CAF) 0 2 0 0
Burundi (CAF) 0 4 0 0
Cameroon (CAF) 0 14 0 2
Canada (Concacaf) 0 14 0 0
Central African Republic (CAF) 0 4 0 0
Chile (CONMEBOL) 2 6 1 1
China PR (AFC) 13 11 6 3
Chinese Taipei (AFC) 4 1 2 0
Colombia (CONMEBOL) 17 24 7 0
Congo (CAF) 1 1 1 0
Congo DR (CAF) 1 4 1 2
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Costa Rica (Concacaf) 0 8 0 1

Côte d'Ivoire (CAF) 3 15 1 0
Croatia (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Cyprus (UEFA) 36 13 7 1
Czech Republic (UEFA) 6 8 3 1
Denmark (UEFA) 38 30 6 0
Ecuador (CONMEBOL) 8 2 4 1
Egypt (CAF) 5 1 1 0
El Salvador (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0
England (UEFA) 56 47 19 6
69

Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing

Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
Estonia (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Eswatini (CAF) 1 0 1 0
Faroe Islands (UEFA) 3 0 1 0
Finland (UEFA) 18 19 7 1
France (UEFA) 60 51 19 6
Gabon (CAF) 0 1 0 0
Gambia (CAF) 0 2 0 0
Georgia (UEFA) 0 2 0 0
Germany (UEFA) 57 45 17 5
Ghana (CAF) 3 14 1 0
Greece (UEFA) 0 11 0 0
Guatemala (Concacaf) 3 3 1 0
Haiti (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0
Hungary (UEFA) 24 10 8 2
Iceland (UEFA) 50 44 15 6
India (AFC) 5 0 1 0
Israel (UEFA) 45 17 9 0
Italy (UEFA) 0 62 0 0
Japan (AFC) 15 14 9 2
Jordan (AFC) 1 1 1 0
Kazakhstan (UEFA) 21 9 4 0
Kenya (CAF) 2 6 2 0
Korea Republic (AFC) 5 3 3 0
Kosovo (UEFA) 3 7 2 1
Kyrgyz Republic (AFC) 0 3 0 0
Latvia (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Lebanon (AFC) 0 1 0 0
Lithuania (UEFA) 4 5 1 0
Malawi (CAF) 0 1 0 0
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Mali (CAF) 0 8 0 0
Malta (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Mexico (Concacaf) 41 4 18 1
Moldova (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Montenegro (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
Morocco (CAF) 54 0 23 0
Mozambique (CAF) 0 1 0 0
Myanmar (AFC) 0 1 0 0
Netherlands (UEFA) 14 18 7 1
New Zealand (OFC) 8 4 1 0
Nigeria (CAF) 6 28 2 1
Northern Ireland (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
70

Incoming Outgoing Engaging Releasing

Association transfers transfers clubs clubs
Norway (UEFA) 36 29 13 2
Panama (Concacaf) 0 7 0 0
Paraguay (CONMEBOL) 4 8 3 0
Peru (CONMEBOL) 0 1 0 0
Poland (UEFA) 24 13 12 0
Portugal (UEFA) 61 38 16 1
Puerto Rico (Concacaf) 0 4 0 0
Republic of Ireland (UEFA) 0 7 0 0
Republic of North Macedonia
17 0 6 0
(UEFA)
Romania (UEFA) 7 12 3 1
Russia (UEFA) 29 4 6 1
Rwanda (CAF) 0 2 0 0
Scotland (UEFA) 27 14 4 1
Senegal (CAF) 0 6 0 0
Serbia (UEFA) 0 16 0 0
Sierra Leone (CAF) 0 1 0 0
Slovakia (UEFA) 0 5 0 0
Slovenia (UEFA) 0 1 0 0
South Africa (CAF) 0 3 0 0
Spain (UEFA) 87 82 29 2
St Kitts and Nevis (Concacaf) 0 1 0 0
Sweden (UEFA) 88 72 20 5
Switzerland (UEFA) 37 18 6 1
Tanzania (CAF) 16 3 3 0
Thailand (AFC) 0 1 0 0
Togo (CAF) 1 3 1 0
Turkey (UEFA) 0 12 0 0
Uganda (CAF) 0 6 0 0
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Ukraine (UEFA) 26 12 5 0
Uruguay (CONMEBOL) 0 4 0 0
USA (Concacaf) 87 136 11 7
Uzbekistan (AFC) 6 0 2 0
Venezuela (CONMEBOL) 1 5 1 0
Wales (UEFA) 0 4 0 0
Zambia (CAF) 4 2 1 0
Zimbabwe (CAF) 0 2 0 0
71

Amateur football

Figure 101: Number of incoming and outgoing transfers and clubs involved by association, amateur football
(2021)

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

Afghanistan (AFC) 0 8 0
Albania (UEFA) 73 163 34
Algeria (CAF) 0 103 0
American Samoa (OFC) 1 0 1
Andorra (UEFA) 47 151 13
Angola (CAF) 1 10 1
Anguilla (Concacaf) 1 4 1
Antigua and Barbuda (Concacaf) 0 26 0
Argentina (CONMEBOL) 327 814 256
Armenia (UEFA) 19 55 4
Aruba (Concacaf) 3 8 3
Australia (AFC) 716 415 410
Austria (UEFA) 1,869 1,131 888
Azerbaijan (UEFA) 13 28 4
Bahrain (AFC) 1 7 1
Bangladesh (AFC) 0 4 0
Barbados (Concacaf) 0 5 0
Belarus (UEFA) 17 76 16
Belgium (UEFA) 1,140 878 424
Belize (Concacaf) 2 5 2
Benin (CAF) 49 17 22
Bermuda (Concacaf) 5 15 4
Bhutan (AFC) 0 3 0
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Bolivia (CONMEBOL) 210 102 88

Bosnia and Herzegovina (UEFA) 275 656 125
Botswana (CAF) 10 6 6
Brazil (CONMEBOL) 52 528 41
British Virgin Islands (Concacaf) 4 0 3
Brunei Darussalam (AFC) 1 2 1
Bulgaria (UEFA) 111 206 70
Burkina Faso (CAF) 28 27 19
Burundi (CAF) 0 3 0
Cabo Verde (CAF) 0 15 0
72

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

Cambodia (AFC) 0 15 0
Cameroon (CAF) 13 97 8
Canada (Concacaf) 412 323 118
Cayman Islands (Concacaf) 3 4 2
Central African Republic (CAF) 0 1 0
Chad (CAF) 0 3 0
Chile (CONMEBOL) 25 122 16
China PR (AFC) 0 19 0
Chinese Taipei (AFC) 3 10 1
Colombia (CONMEBOL) 305 511 176
Comoros (CAF) 32 54 16
Congo (CAF) 29 15 12
Congo DR (CAF) 16 36 12
Cook Islands (OFC) 3 8 2
Costa Rica (Concacaf) 52 37 17
Côte d'Ivoire (CAF) 9 76 4
Croatia (UEFA) 838 879 371
Cuba (Concacaf) 0 5 0
Curaçao (Concacaf) 8 26 6
Cyprus (UEFA) 177 163 90
Czech Republic (UEFA) 701 513 458
Denmark (UEFA) 433 283 205
Djibouti (CAF) 5 3 3
Dominica (Concacaf) 9 3 5
Dominican Republic (Concacaf) 2 31 1
Ecuador (CONMEBOL) 44 66 35
Egypt (CAF) 1 108 1
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

El Salvador (Concacaf) 8 22 5
England (UEFA) 1,551 1,853 721
Equatorial Guinea (CAF) 28 14 4
Estonia (UEFA) 32 42 17
Eswatini (CAF) 3 8 2
Ethiopia (CAF) 0 3 0
Faroe Islands (UEFA) 49 93 13
Fiji (OFC) 32 5 10
Finland (UEFA) 176 136 96
73

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

France (UEFA) 2,064 2,532 1,257

Gabon (CAF) 0 18 0
Gambia (CAF) 1 26 1
Georgia (UEFA) 24 70 17
Germany (UEFA) 5,122 2,651 3,056
Ghana (CAF) 22 105 17
Gibraltar (UEFA) 24 106 9
Greece (UEFA) 280 393 196
Grenada (Concacaf) 1 2 1
Guam (AFC) 1 3 1
Guatemala (Concacaf) 10 27 9
Guinea (CAF) 1 22 1
Guinea-Bissau (CAF) 0 22 0
Haiti (Concacaf) 0 24 0
Honduras (Concacaf) 33 91 17
Hong Kong (AFC) 13 44 7
Hungary (UEFA) 637 499 348
Iceland (UEFA) 128 137 46
India (AFC) 40 61 25
Indonesia (AFC) 2 8 2
Iran (AFC) 2 56 1
Iraq (AFC) 0 3 0
Israel (UEFA) 91 114 66
Italy (UEFA) 1,858 1,616 926
Jamaica (Concacaf) 4 20 4
Japan (AFC) 309 355 229
Jordan (AFC) 3 27 2
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Kazakhstan (UEFA) 0 45 0
Kenya (CAF) 1 34 1
Korea DPR (AFC) 0 1 0
Korea Republic (AFC) 164 82 117
Kosovo (UEFA) 53 164 21
Kuwait (AFC) 11 7 4
Kyrgyz Republic (AFC) 6 11 5
Laos (AFC) 1 9 1
Latvia (UEFA) 81 84 28
74

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

Lebanon (AFC) 0 26 0
Lesotho (CAF) 0 5 0
Liberia (CAF) 7 9 4
Libya (CAF) 49 1 20
Liechtenstein (UEFA) 0 1 0
Lithuania (UEFA) 94 74 29
Luxembourg (UEFA) 699 403 97
Macau (AFC) 0 1 0
Madagascar (CAF) 3 26 1
Malawi (CAF) 0 1 0
Malaysia (AFC) 0 26 0
Maldives (AFC) 14 5 4
Mali (CAF) 9 38 3
Malta (UEFA) 29 93 22
Mauritania (CAF) 18 16 7
Mauritius (CAF) 1 9 1
Mexico (Concacaf) 15 145 13
Moldova (UEFA) 20 92 15
Mongolia (AFC) 10 12 3
Montenegro (UEFA) 59 84 27
Morocco (CAF) 10 182 6
Mozambique (CAF) 0 7 0
Myanmar (AFC) 0 5 0
Namibia (CAF) 2 9 1
Nepal (AFC) 1 13 1
Netherlands (UEFA) 595 627 274
New Caledonia (OFC) 6 11 3
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

New Zealand (OFC) 196 219 85

Nicaragua (Concacaf) 129 53 46
Niger (CAF) 54 12 18
Nigeria (CAF) 0 351 0
Northern Ireland (UEFA) 156 172 65
Norway (UEFA) 329 233 224
Oman (AFC) 0 10 0
Pakistan (AFC) 0 1 0
Palestine (AFC) 40 43 11
75

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

Panama (Concacaf) 52 103 21

Papua New Guinea (OFC) 0 2 0
Paraguay (CONMEBOL) 140 171 59
Peru (CONMEBOL) 27 126 8
Philippines (AFC) 0 15 0
Poland (UEFA) 947 966 667
Portugal (UEFA) 347 661 206
Puerto Rico (Concacaf) 32 22 7
Qatar (AFC) 1 2 1
Republic of Ireland (UEFA) 256 262 137
Republic of North Macedonia
62 114 36
(UEFA)
Romania (UEFA) 146 522 98
Russia (UEFA) 121 86 62
Rwanda (CAF) 0 6 0
Samoa (OFC) 3 2 2
San Marino (UEFA) 204 228 15
Saudi Arabia (AFC) 0 17 0
Scotland (UEFA) 271 216 132
Senegal (CAF) 29 76 18
Serbia (UEFA) 292 491 176
Seychelles (CAF) 6 0 5
Sierra Leone (CAF) 0 10 0
Singapore (AFC) 0 19 0
Slovakia (UEFA) 535 658 290
Slovenia (UEFA) 344 452 122
Solomon Islands (OFC) 0 41 0
ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW

Somalia (CAF) 0 1 0
South Africa (CAF) 44 39 33
Spain (UEFA) 3,360 1,646 1,482
Sri Lanka (AFC) 0 3 0
St Kitts and Nevis (Concacaf) 6 5 6
St Lucia (Concacaf) 18 4 8
St Vincent and the Grenadines
0 4 0
(Concacaf)
Sudan (CAF) 0 7 0
Suriname (Concacaf) 0 7 0
76

Association Incoming transfers Outgoing transfers Engaging clubs

Sweden (UEFA) 357 408 215

Switzerland (UEFA) 1,228 825 446
Syria (AFC) 0 2 0
Tahiti (OFC) 18 29 6
Tajikistan (AFC) 0 9 0
Tanzania (CAF) 0 12 0
Thailand (AFC) 84 45 40
Togo (CAF) 37 32 18
Tonga (OFC) 1 1 1
Trinidad and Tobago (Concacaf) 0 31 0
Tunisia (CAF) 1 119 1
Turkey (UEFA) 189 253 78
Uganda (CAF) 2 6 2
Ukraine (UEFA) 362 656 204
United Arab Emirates (AFC) 207 29 23
Uruguay (CONMEBOL) 83 114 58
USA (Concacaf) 1,197 1,514 369
Uzbekistan (AFC) 0 23 0
Vanuatu (OFC) 1 8 1
Venezuela (CONMEBOL) 13 282 6
Vietnam (AFC) 0 3 0
Wales (UEFA) 838 381 243
Yemen (AFC) 0 1 0
Zambia (CAF) 0 10 0
Zimbabwe (CAF) 0 15 0 ANNEXE: ASSOCIATION OVERVIEW
77

DEFINITIONS

Association

See member association.

Average transfer fee

Total transfer fees divided by number of transfers with fees.

Club

A member of an association (that is a member association of FIFA) or a

member of a league recognised by a member association that enters at least
one team in a competition.

Conditional transfer fee

The amount payable by the new club to the former club if certain conditions
are fulfilled, e.g. if the player scores ten goals or makes 20 first-team
appearances.

Confederation

A group of associations recognised by FIFA that belong to the same continent

(or assimilable geographical region). Confederations are the umbrella
organisations of the member associations in each continent:

• AFC – Asian Football Confederation

• CAF – Confédération Africaine de Football

• Concacaf – Confederation of North, Central American and

Caribbean Association Football

• CONMEBOL – Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol

• OFC – Oceania Football Confederation

• UEFA – Union des Associations Européennes de Football

Fixed transfer fee

The unconditional payment amount for the transfer of the player.

ITC (International Transfer Certificate)

The official document that allows the international transfer of the player’s
DEFINITIONS

registration from one association to another (cf. art. 9 RSTP).

78

ITMS (International Transfer Matching System)

Web-based data information system with the primary objective of simplifying

the process of international player transfers as well as improving transparency
and the flow of information.

Loan

The type of transfer conducted when players are temporarily engaged by a

new club: a) on the basis of a loan agreement between the club with which
they have an employment contract and a club in another association, during
the term of their employment contract with their parent club; or b) when the
loan is extended by the new club with the agreement of the parent club (loan
extension).

Member association

A football association recognised as such by FIFA. A total of 211 member

associations are currently affiliated to FIFA.

Out of contract (transfer)

The type of transfer conducted when a player signs for a new club when he/
she is not contractually bound to any former club and no transfer agreement
exists. There are four possible reasons for the player’s previous contract
termination: the contract with the former club has expired; the contract with
the former club was terminated unilaterally; the player mutually agreed an
early termination with his/her former club; the player was not under contract
with his/her former club, i.e. he/she was an amateur.

Permanent transfer

The type of transfer conducted when players are permanently engaged by a

new club in another association and a transfer agreement is signed between
the new club and the former club, or when a club in a different association
permanently engages players it has had on loan, with the agreement of the
former club (loan-to-permanent transfer).

Professional player

A player who has a written contract with a club and is paid more for his/her
football activity than the expenses he/she effectively incurs (cf. RSTP art. 2
par. 2).

Receipts

Sum of the value of transfer fees of outgoing transfers. The expression

DEFINITIONS

“receipts by association” refers to receipts by clubs belonging to a specific

member association.
79

Release (buyout) fee

Any fee paid in execution of a clause in the player‘s contract with his/her
former club providing for compensation for termination of the relevant
contract.

Return from loan

The instruction type entered when a player who was loaned to another club
returns to his/her club of origin after termination of the loan.

RSTP (FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players)

Global and binding rules concerning the status of players, their eligibility to
participate in organised football, and their transfer between clubs belonging
to different associations.

Sell-on fee

The percentage of a future transfer fee agreed between the two clubs
involved in a transfer. This means that if the new club transfers the player to a
third club, the former club is entitled to a percentage of the new transfer fee.

Solidarity contribution

If a professional player moves before the expiry of his/her contract, 5% of any

compensation (not including training compensation paid to his/her former
club) shall be distributed between the clubs that have contributed to his
education. This solidarity contribution reflects the number of years the player
was registered with the relevant club(s) between the seasons of his/her 12th
and 23rd birthdays (cf. Annexe 5 of the RSTP).

Spending

Sum of the value of transfer fees of incoming transfers. The expression

“spending by association” refers to spending by clubs belonging to a specific
member association.

TMS (Transfer Matching System)

Web-based data information system with the primary objective of simplifying

the process of international player transfers as well as improving transparency
and the flow of information.

Total transfer fee

Sum of fixed transfer fee, conditional transfer fee, release (buy-out) fee. In
DEFINITIONS

this report sell-on fees, solidarity contribution and training compensation are
covered separately.
80

Training compensation

Sum paid to the player’s training club(s): (1) when a player signs his first
contract as a professional, and (2) each time a professional is transferred until
the end of the season of his 23rd birthday. (cf. art. 20 of the RSTP).

Training rewards

See solidarity contribution and training compensation.

Transfer fee

Financial compensation agreed to be paid between clubs in the course of

a player transfer. In this report, transfer fees include fixed transfer fees,
conditional transfer fees, and release (buyout) fees. Sell-on fees, solidarity
contribution and training compensation are covered separately.

Transfer with fees

Transfer where at least one of fixed transfer fees, conditional transfer fees,
release (buyout) fees is greater than zero.

DEFINITIONS
81

METHODOLOGY

All transfer data provided in the report only concerns international transfers of football players within the
scope of 11-a-side football.

Transfer data has been analysed for all transfers completed between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021.

The data was extracted from TMS on 6 January 2022.

All amounts are automatically converted into US dollars on the basis of conversion rates as of the day when
the transfer instruction is created in TMS. They are treated as upfront payments for calculation purposes,
notwithstanding any instalment plans that may be agreed by clubs.

Numbers in the report are rounded.

All names of clubs in this report are as entered in TMS.

METHODOLOGY
82

DISCLAIMER

The information in this report is based on individual transaction data provided directly by football clubs in
TMS. FIFA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided
by the clubs. With regard to any technical references included in this report, please be advised that in the
event of any contradiction between this report and the actual text of the relevant regulations, the latter shall
always prevail. Equally, this report may not alter existing jurisprudence of the competent decision-making
bodies and is without prejudice to any decision that the said bodies might be called upon to pass in the
future.

Due to the nature of the TMS database, the presence of pending transfers, the potential cancellation
of transfers, and data corrections, numbers may differ from one report to another. In the event of any
contradiction between this report and other publications by FIFA, the most recent shall always prevail.

Any views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA.

Source of data and preparation of report

The source of all data and information (unless explicitly stated otherwise) is:

FIFA

Legal Strategic Projects Subdivision

Legal & Compliance Division

Zurich, Switzerland

Data protection

The data contained in TMS and in this review is covered by Swiss data protection law.

DISCLAIMER