Third-Party Ownership (TPO) in Football: An In-Depth Look at its Evolution, Ban, and Ongoing Impact ⚽
Third-Party Ownership (TPO) once played a pivotal role in professional football, where external investors (companies, agencies, or individuals) acquired a stake in a player’s economic rights. The idea? These third parties would profit from future transfer fees if the player’s value increased.
Why was TPO popular? For financially struggling clubs, TPO was a lifeline. Investors helped clubs sign talent they couldn’t afford on their own by covering part of the transfer fee or wages. In return, the investor received a share of the player’s future transfer revenue, creating an attractive business model for those looking to capitalize on rising player values.
But TPO wasn’t without its problems:
Conflicts of Interest: Third-party investors could pressure clubs and players into transfers that prioritized profit over player development or team needs.
Integrity Issues: Allowing non-football entities to control players’ rights created concerns about fairness and transparency in the sport.
FIFA Steps In: The Ban In 2015, FIFA banned TPO, aiming to protect the sport’s integrity by ensuring clubs and players were free from external influence. The ban prevents any entity other than the club or the player from owning a player’s transfer rights, with pre-existing agreements still honored until their expiration.
What’s happened since? While the FIFA ban has curbed TPO, certain loopholes and gray areas remain:
❗ Loan Deals: Some clubs find creative ways to involve third parties by loaning players under complex agreements where control over economic rights remains blurred.
❗ Image Rights: Third parties can still profit from player branding and image rights, which fall outside the scope of the TPO ban.
New Financial Models Since the ban, clubs and investors have adapted:
Club-to-Club Partnerships: Some clubs collaborate to jointly develop players, sharing the economic benefits without involving third parties.
Private Investments in Clubs: Investors are now focusing on buying stakes in clubs themselves, gaining influence over transfer decisions while remaining within the boundaries of FIFA’s regulations.
Third-Party Financing Models: While direct ownership of players’ rights is banned, financial support through loans to clubs has emerged as a new model, indirectly tied to future transfers.⚖️
