Solidarity mechanism
Also called solidarity payment, solidarity contribution
The solidarity mechanism reserves 5% of any compensation paid when a professional transfers before their contract expires, distributed among every club that trained them between the calendar years of their 12th and 23rd birthdays.
The mechanism is set out in article 21 and Annexe 5 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. It exists so that clubs which develop a player continue to benefit when that player is transferred later in their career, long after the developing club has lost them.
The 5% is not shared equally. It is apportioned by how long the player was registered with each training club, calculated pro rata where a period is shorter than a year. The regulations express each share as a percentage of the 5% rather than of the fee, which is a common source of confusion. Each calendar year from the 12th to the 15th birthday is worth 5% of the 5%. Each year from the 16th to the 23rd is worth 10% of the 5%.
It is not triggered by every transfer. A training club is entitled to a share when a professional moves between clubs affiliated to different associations, or between clubs in the same association where the training club itself is affiliated elsewhere. It applies to loans as well as permanent transfers, which is regularly missed.
Where the transfer is not handled under the FIFA Clearing House Regulations, the new club must pay training clubs within 30 days of the player's registration, or within 30 days of a contingent payment falling due. The provisions do not apply to transfers to or from futsal clubs.
Worked example
A player transfers internationally for £10m, before their contract expires.
5% of that fee, being £500,000, is reserved for solidarity.
A club that registered the player for the calendar years of their 16th to 18th birthdays trained them for three years in the 10% band. That is 30% of the £500,000, so £150,000.
A club that had them for the calendar year of their 13th birthday alone sits in the 5% band, and receives 5% of the £500,000, being £25,000.
Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, January 2026 edition, art. 21 and Annexe 5
Related terms
- Training compensationTraining compensation is paid to the clubs that trained a player when they first register as a professional, and on every subsequent transfer until the end of the calendar year of their 23rd birthday.
- Sell-on clauseA sell-on clause entitles a selling club to a share of what a buying club later receives if it sells the player on, most often expressed as a percentage of the next fee or of the profit made on it.