Training compensation
Training 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.
Set out in article 20 and Annexe 4 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, training compensation is the other half of the development settlement, alongside the solidarity mechanism. Where solidarity takes a slice of a transfer fee, training compensation is a separate payment calculated from the cost of training the player.
The regulations treat a player's training and education as taking place between the ages of 12 and 23. Compensation is payable as a general rule up to the age of 23, but is calculated on training incurred up to the age of 21, unless it is evident the player finished their training earlier, in which case the calculation stops at that point.
The obligation arises whether the player moves during a contract or at the end of one, which distinguishes it from solidarity, and it is due on a first professional registration even where no transfer fee changes hands at all.
Two exclusions are worth knowing. The principles of training compensation do not apply to women's football, and they do not apply to transfers of players from futsal clubs.
Worked example
A player signs their first professional contract at 18.
Training compensation is due to every club that trained them, calculated on the training years from 12 up to that point, even though no transfer fee has been paid by anyone.
If the same player is transferred again at 22, compensation is due once more, because they are still inside the calendar year of their 23rd birthday.
A transfer at 25 triggers no training compensation at all, though the solidarity mechanism may still apply.
Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, January 2026 edition, art. 20 and Annexe 4