User’s manual: Recruitment outside the transfer window

Outside the two periods a year when the transfer market is open in France, Ligue 1 Uber Eats clubs can still add to their squad with out-of-contract players and emergency transfers. Examples include AS Monaco with Kassoum Ouattara and Le Havre AC with André Ayew.

Free agents and emergency transfers

French teams looking to strengthen their squads have the opportunity to recruit players who are free of any commitment. In other words, any player “whose employment contract ended before the end of the main registration period”, i.e. before 1 September in France, according to LFP regulations.

In terms of arrivals, it is also possible to bring in an emergency transfer from another French club the day after the summer transfer window closes. “This possibility of exceptional recruitment is strictly limited to one player per club”, the LFP states.

Any player who is available, or whose professional or federal contract is due to expire (excluding cases of termination or early termination) within a period of six months, may sign a professional contract with a French professional club.

Another possible case, according to article 213 of the regulations, is players from a club that has been the subject of collective proceedings.

A player whose contract or training agreement has been terminated between the end of the main registration period and the start of the additional registration period by a French professional club in the context of the opening of insolvency proceedings ordered by the competent court may be registered outside this period.

However, a player who has been exclusively under a training agreement may not take part in matches in professional competitions for his new club before the start of the complementary transfer period following the date of registration of his licence.

Similarly, a player who has been temporarily transferred may return to his original club at any time in order to:

– terminate his contract immediately. If this termination occurs between the end of the main registration period and the start of the complementary registration period, the player concerned will not be counted as an emergency transfer.

– be immediately transferred to a new club. If this new transfer is to a French professional club between the end of the main registration period and the start of the additional registration period, the player concerned will be counted as an emergency transfer.

Finally, Ligue 1 Uber Eats clubs can make an emergency transfer.

A club can recruit a player at any time in the following circumstances:

– Death of a player under contract;

– Serious injury to the goalkeeper or his replacement (in this case, the club can only recruit a new goalkeeper);

– Serious injury to a player under contract, during selection for the French national team, if this injury results in the player being incapacitated for a period of three months or more.

In these cases, the injured player and the player recruited may not be entered simultaneously on the match sheet for a period of three months following the date on which the injury is diagnosed.

(Photo: HAC)