RSTP practice questions

Question 1

Cedar United and Lakeside AC enter a permanent transfer agreement for professional midfielder Maya Chen. Schedule A requires Lakeside AC to pay Cedar United fifteen percent of any subsequent transfer fee as a sell-on. Clause Field requires Lakeside AC to include Maya in the starting eleven for at least seventy percent of domestic league matches in the first two seasons. Clause Squad provides that Lakeside AC may not register Maya for continental competition without the prior approval of Cedar United’s sporting director. Do any of these provisions breach article 18bis of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Clause Field and Clause Squad, because a starting-eleven quota and a continental-registration veto let Cedar United influence Lakeside AC’s independence in the performance of its teams and its policies, while the Schedule A sell-on does not itself create that influence. Article 18bis paragraph 1 prohibits contracts that enable a counter club or third party to influence a club’s independence in employment and transfer-related matters, including its policies or the performance of its teams. A contractual starting-eleven quota and a veto over continental registration both restrict Lakeside AC’s autonomy over team performance and policies. A sell-on fee between clubs is a common transfer arrangement and is not, by itself, an article 18bis influence breach.

Answer

Yes, Clause Field and Clause Squad, because a starting-eleven quota and a continental-registration veto let Cedar United influence Lakeside AC’s independence in the performance of its teams and its policies, while the Schedule A sell-on does not itself create that influence.

Answer

Yes, only Clause Field, because a playing-time quota alone breaches article 18bis and registration-approval clauses are always treated as ordinary sporting courtesy.

Answer

Yes, only Clause Squad, because a continental-registration veto is the sole form of third-party influence recognised under article 18bis when sell-on language is also present.

Answer

Yes, Schedule A, because sell-on fees between clubs are prohibited under the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players as unlawful third-party influence.

Question 2

Prairie FC signs a commercial contract with kit sponsor Northline Apparel. The contract requires Prairie FC to sign two of Northline Apparel’s ambassador athletes during this registration window. Northline Apparel receives no share of any future transfer fee and is assigned no rights in future transfer compensation. Prairie FC’s board minutes describe the clause as a brand partnership that merely “aligns the squad with the sponsor’s campaign.” Which statement correctly splits the article 18bis and article 18ter analysis?

Accepted Answer

The clause does not breach article 18ter because Northline Apparel receives no entitlement to future transfer compensation, but it breaches article 18bis because Prairie FC enabled a third party to influence its independence in employment- and transfer-related matters. Article 18bis is breached when a club lets a third party dictate employment or transfer choices — here, an obligation to sign athletes chosen for a sponsor campaign. Article 18ter targets entitlements to participate in future transfer compensation or assigned transfer rights; without those economic rights, article 18ter is not breached. Labelling the sponsor a brand partner, or wrapping the duty in a kit contract, does not erase the 18bis influence problem or invent an 18ter entitlement.

Answer

The clause breaches article 18ter because any sponsor that names ambassador athletes is automatically entitled to participate in future transfer compensation, even without an express sell-on.

Answer

The clause does not breach article 18bis because calling the sponsor a brand partner prevents third-party influence over employment and transfer decisions.

Answer

The clause does not breach article 18ter because Northline Apparel receives no entitlement to future transfer compensation, but it breaches article 18bis because Prairie FC enabled a third party to influence its independence in employment- and transfer-related matters.

Answer

Neither article 18bis nor article 18ter can apply when the obligation is labelled a commercial kit deal rather than an investment or loan arrangement.

Question 3

On 1 March 2025, Northern Star permanently transfers winger Jenny Cole to Valley Town. She starts twelve league matches for Valley Town. On 20 April 2025, during an open registration period, Valley Town permanently transfers her to Summit Athletic. Valley Town’s owner is Jenny’s cousin. Both clubs say the moves were needed to “reset work-permit days” and deny any plan to use Valley Town only as a middle club. Which statement best identifies what must be shown for this sequence to be a bridge transfer under the RSTP definition?

Accepted Answer

The definition is met only if the two successive moves of the same player are linked and the middle registration is used to evade applicable rules or to defraud a person or entity; cousin ownership, match minutes, and a sixteen-week clock are not themselves those elements. A bridge transfer is defined by successive connected transfers of the same player with a middle-club registration used to evade applicable regulations or laws and/or to defraud a person or entity. Article 5bis’s short-window rule can raise an evidentiary presumption, but family ownership, playing time, and a below-market story are not themselves the definitional elements. Two permanent transfers can form that sequence; the decisive question remains connected consecutive moves for a prohibited purpose.

Answer

It is automatically a bridge transfer solely because two permanent transfers of the same player occurred within sixteen weeks, regardless of why the clubs moved her.

Answer

It is a bridge transfer only if Valley Town paid a below-market fee, regardless of whether the successive moves were linked in order to evade rules or defraud someone.

Answer

The definition is met only if the two successive moves of the same player are linked and the middle registration is used to evade applicable rules or to defraud a person or entity; cousin ownership, match minutes, and a sixteen-week clock are not themselves those elements.

Answer

No bridge transfer can exist because she started twelve matches, so the middle club obtained a sporting benefit that always takes the sequence outside the definition.

RSTP practice questions

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RSTP practice questions

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