English football will have two transfer windows, one in the winter and another in the summer, under changes being considered by Fifa and Uefa as part of its review of how the transfer system can be amended to comply with European labour laws. Michel Zen-Ruffinen, Fifa's general secretary, revealed at the Football Expo conference here yesterday that Fifa, Uefa and the European Commission had reached agreement on five crucial changes to the transfer system and that once a new system was in place it would apply to the whole world, not just Europe. Those five areas of agreement are:

two transfer windows;

no transfer fees for players aged 23 or over who move at the end of their contracts;

a prohibition - with certain exceptions - on transfers for players aged under 18 which Fifa claims will stop the exploitation of players from South America and Africa;

compensation for all clubs involved in the development of a player transferred before reaching the age of 23;

and a new arbitration system to deal with disputes and to set levels of compensation. A joint Fifa/Uefa task force on transfers is due to meet commission officials in Brussels on February 16 to iron out remaining differences, and Zen-Ruffinen warned that it was likely to be a make-or-break meeting. Zen-Ruffinen said: "Everybody will know on February 16 whether there will be agreement or not. We have already reached a number of agreements with the EC. We want to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible. If all goes to plan then the new regulations will be integrated by mid-March but obviously we will allow for a large transitional period." Fifa also revealed that it wanted to reach agreement before two cases which challenge the legality of the transfer system are heard before a Brussels court. One of the cases is being brought by the Hungarian footballer Tibor Balog and involves freedom of movement within Europe for players who come from countries that have special trade links with the European Union. If Balog wins, then it could open the door to many players from outside the EU, giving them the right to play without work permits. Zen-Ruffinen said: "These cases could have disastrous consequences for football. They could be worse than Bosman. The second case is challenging the legality of the transfer system. We want to settle the whole transfer system issue before these cases are heard." If there is no agreement next month, then changes to the transfer system could be imposed by the European Commission, which has demanded that footballers be allowed the same freedom of movement as other workers in Europe. The main area of disagreement continues to be the minimum time players must honour contracts. Fifa and Uefa want players to honour five-year contracts for a minimum three-year period. This, however, is being opposed by Fifpro, the international players' organisation, and representatives of some leagues. Zen-Ruffinen also revealed that representatives of the G14 clubs - the group of Europe's biggest and most influential clubs which includes Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - have been invited to a meeting next week to discuss the new transfer system. If the various football bodies reach an agreement, the proposals will be submitted to the commission ahead of the February 16 meeting. Zen-Ruffinen added: "We are working very actively towards producing a final document. We want to get everybody involved - G14, the players and even some of the leagues that have not taken part so far. The players have not yet been consulted but they have been invited to the forthcoming meeting. We are confident that we will be able to reach agreement with everybody."

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2001

Answers

Doesn't look as if the laws would be in place before our transfer deadline day, so expext a busy summer of player trading.

Would they extend the transfer deadline in this country

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2001

Looks to me like this unecessary meddling by the EC is inevitably bad news for football. The rich Clubs and top players will rapidly cream off the top talent and the money: lower Clubs will go out of business, or revert to semi-pro/amateur status, reducing the overall development and supply of players.

The game will be increasingly dominated by a small number of wealthy Clubs to the detriment of the product being provided - highly competitive entertainment - the SPL provides a good working model.

I feel strongly that this is bad news for the health of the game irrespective of whether NUFC benefits overall.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2001

You can't really see smaller clubs surviving long, even with compensation. It will be chicken feed compared with what they get now from the odd million pound transfer.

I can see this leading to a total transformation of our league system. I reckon that by 2005, we'll have a premier A and Premier B league , consisting of 18 clubs each. All the rest of the clubs will have been taken over by Premier league team for their reserves and youth development. So the likes of Newcastle will have a Hartlepool or Carlisle as THEIR B TEAM WHICH WILL BE PARTIALLY OWED BY THEIR CURRENT OWNERS AND PARTIALLY OWNED BY NUFC.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2001