Obligations of TMS users

General obligations

Users are responsible for ensuring that they have all the necessary equipment to fulfil their obligations. Member Associations are required to have at least two active TMS users at all times.

Each club and Member Association is responsible for informing FIFA of any change to its TMS users or the addition of a new user. Each new or replacement user must be trained by the organisation’s previous representative, by a TMS user of the relevant Member Association, where appropriate, or through the e-learning platform, and must obtain a certificate of completion. For more information on this topic, see the section “Requirements to become a TMS user”.

All users must check TMS at regular intervals and pay particular attention to any enquiries or requests for statements. Users must check TMS daily for transfers and at least every three days for minor applications and claims.

This will ensure that deadlines are met and will allow transactions to be processed quickly, benefiting all parties involved. Deadlines are assessed and enforced by Regulatory Compliance from the date on which the request was created in the system and not from the moment the user became aware of it. Please also note that, with respect to proceedings and investigations conducted by Regulatory Compliance, electronic notifications through TMS and email sent to the address provided in TMS by clubs and Member Associations are considered valid means of communication and will be deemed sufficient to establish time limits. It is therefore very important that all organisations ensure that the email addresses for their TMS users are valid and kept up to date at all times.

The impact of delays

Delays can, in some cases, block transfers and prevent them from being completed. Delays in responding to requests negatively impact other clubs, Member Associations and players involved. Such delays can expose the club or Member Association to investigations and sanctions by Regulatory Compliance.

Liability and good faith

The activities conducted in TMS and the information entered in the system are highly sensitive and should be handled with extreme care. All users must act in good faith.

TMS users represent their organisation. In principle, clubs and Member Associations are liable for the actions or omissions of the individual users acting in TMS on their behalf. However, individuals may also be held liable for any breach of confidentiality, as stated in the “Terms of use of FIFA services” which every individual must read and accept before gaining access to TMS. For further information on this topic, see the section “Confidentiality and security in TMS”.

Regulatory Compliance actively monitors user activity, scrutinises suspicious behaviour and, where necessary, investigates (and, in certain defined cases, sanctions) conduct that constitutes a misuse of the system.

Obligations of all TMS users

1. act in good faith;
2. abide by the FIFA Statutes and all FIFA regulations;
3. inform FIFA of any suspected breaches of FIFA regulations;
4. maintain confidentiality over all data in TMS, apply the highest degree of care to guarantee complete confidentiality and only use confidential data for the purpose of completing player transfers in which they are directly involved;
5. ensure that only their authorised TMS users may access TMS on their behalf;
6. check TMS at regular intervals to ensure they are in a position to comply with their obligations at all times;
7. perform pending actions in TMS without delay;
8. ensure that they have all of the necessary equipment, training and know-how to fulfil their obligations;
9. use TMS only for the purposes set out in the FIFA regulations;
10. ensure that the email address of any authorised TMS user is valid and always kept up to date;
11. request the deactivation of an authorised TMS user’s account who is no longer authorised to use TMS on their behalf;
12. ensure that all information entered is true and correct;
13. ensure that all documents uploaded in TMS are authentic, complete and legible. Documents uploaded shall conform to the type requested (e.g. an “employment contract” shall not be uploaded in the “transfer agreement” section). Documents shall be uploaded in PDF format; and
14. if requested by the FIFA general secretariat, upload a translation of a document (or an excerpt thereof) into one of the following official languages of FIFA: English, French or Spanish.

Obligations of club users

1. always have at least one TMS user;
2. ensure that their contact details (postal address, telephone number and email address) are valid and always kept up to date;
3. ensure that their own bank account details are valid and always kept up to date;
4. enter and confirm transfer instructions and (where applicable) ensure that the required information matches (cf. art. 10 of Annexe 3 of the RSTP); and
5. declare all payments made in the context of an international transfer.

Obligations of Member Association users

1. monitor the activity of their affiliated clubs in TMS to verify compliance with Annexe 3, and inform FIFA about any potential infringements;
2. always have at least two TMS users;
3. provide their affiliated clubs with ongoing TMS training;
4. ensure that their contact details (postal address, telephone number and email address) and those of their affiliated clubs are valid and always kept up to date;
5. ensure that their bank account details are valid and always kept up to date;
6. enter the training category of their affiliated clubs;
7. ensure that their affiliated clubs and registered players are assigned a FIFA ID and, when required, resolve duplicate entries concerning their affiliated clubs and registered players without delay;
8. confirm or reject newly created players (cf. art. 13 of Annexe 3 of the RSTP);
9. carry out the ITC procedure (cf. art. 11 of Annexe 3 of the RSTP);
10. enter transfers of amateur players on behalf of affiliated clubs that do not have access to TMS (cf. art. 10 of Annexe 3 of the RSTP); and
11. enter all required data related to dates of competition periods, seasons and registration periods, as applicable (cf. art. 6 of the RSTP) at least 12 months before the first match of the relevant season in the following categories of competition, where applicable:
12. Male professional competitions
13. Female professional competitions
14. Amateur competitions (female and male)

Additional obligations under the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal

• submit minor applications involving their affiliated clubs;
• submit claims for their affiliated clubs without access to TMS.