FIFA have moved to clamp down upon third-party ownership of players and the practice of clubs buying licences from teams in higher divisions to secure promotion.
The issue of third-party ownership was highlighted during the protracted transfer of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez from West Ham to Manchester United.
Tevez’s transfer was held up because the player’s transfer rights were partly owned by a private company rather than just his club.
The move to outlaw the practice of purchasing club licences comes in the wake of the case of Spanish fourth division side Granada 74, after they bought a place in the country’s second division from Ciudad de Murcia.
The Spanish Football Federation failed to block the move after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed with Granada that they had simply relocated and renamed an existing club.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter confirmed that the new rules will come into place at the end of the year.
“We are not happy with that decision [the issue of Granada 74] which goes against the principles of our game where promotion and relegation is the essence,” he said.
“So we have changed the regulations and the new rules will be enforced at the end of the year.”
Of the Tevez situation, Blatter added: “Identification of ownership of this club [Corinthians] and the transfer of money going from there to England is a matter which has already been dealt with partially.
“We have been presented with a new approach about how to try to solve this problem and it will be ratified to come into force at the end of the year.”
