On Jan. 3, the day when everything was renewed, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) officially unveiled the new season's transfer prelude, releasing an exhaustive notice on the registration of player transfers for clubs at all levels of the league for the 2024 season. Chinese Super League teams will enjoy the privilege of registering five foreign aiders at the same time, while Chinese League One teams will be able to have three foreign aiders in their ranks.
Bell rings for domestic transfer registrations
(i) Time window
The transfer gates for the Chinese Super League and Chinese Super League will be open from January 4 to February 28, 2024, with the second transfer window scheduled for June 17 to July 15 of the same year.
The transfer window for S.B., on the other hand, is divided into two periods, with the first running from January 4th to March 8th and the second, again from June 17th to July 15th.
(ii) Domestic player quota
For each club in the Chinese Super League, Chinese League One and Chinese League Two, there will be no quota restriction on the introduction of domestic players.
The transfer and registration of players from Hong Kong, Macau, SAR and Taiwan Province will refer to the specific regulations issued by the Football Association in 2018, while naturalized players will operate as domestic players.
Submission of required materials
Domestic transfer procedures are to be handled through the FA information platform with transfer agreements, contract expiration certificates, agency agreements or declarations of non-agency, work contracts, and transfer fee payment vouchers.
Guide to registering foreign transfers
(i) Timing
The registration of foreign transfers for Chinese Super League and Chinese First Division clubs will be based on the domestic transfer registration time.
(ii) Registration and playing of foreign players
The Chinese Super League and Chinese League One clubs are the privileged clubs to bring in foreign players. In the first transfer window, the Chinese Super League could register up to six foreign players, while the Chinese League One had three. By the second transfer window, the registration quota was raised to seven and four for the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League One respectively.
It is worth noting that a maximum of five foreign players can be registered to play in each match in the Chinese Super League, compared to three in the Chinese League.
Foreign players loaned to other clubs will occupy the registration quota of the original club.
Submission of required materials
Foreign-related transfers must be processed through FIFA's International Transfer Matching System (ITMS) and a series of documents must be submitted, including transfer agreements, proof of contract expiration, agency agreements or declarations of non-agency, work contracts, and proof of payment of transfer fees.
relevant requirements
(i) Acquisition of qualifications
Clubs will need to qualify for the appropriate league for the 2024 season before players can participate in the new season.
(ii) Disciplinary guidelines
The CFA will penalize violations according to the CFA Disciplinary Code, and the associations, clubs and individuals involved will be dealt with accordingly.
