This international clearance is for any player who is taking part in an academic foreign exchange program who at the time of registration is  between the ages of 10 and  17 and meets the following criteria:

• The player’s new club has purely amateur status without any legal, financial, or de facto links to ANY professional club domestic or abroad,
• AND ONE (1) of the below:

o   The duration of the player’s academic study program and the duration of the player’s intended registration is less than one year, OR

o   The duration of the player’s academic study abroad program is longer than one year, but the player is turning 18 in less than one year, OR

o   The duration of the player’s academic study abroad program is longer than one year, but there is less than one year of the program remaining.

 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Exchange Student Exception Form
• ONE (1)  of EACH of the FIFTEEN listed  supporting documents is required.
• Must be in English, Spanish, German, or French.
• Acceptable documents limited to:

1.     Player’s Original Birth Certificate

-  If document is not in one of the four above listed languages  - FIFA requires  a certified translation of the birth certificate AND the original.

-  Must contain parentage information.

2.     Player’s Passport or Visa

3.     Student Visa

4.     Parents’ Passports

5.     Documentation of Exchange Program

-  Official information about the exchange program that requires the name, purpose, funding, and duration provided by the exchange program.

6.     Exchange Program Application

-  Full and complete application signed by the player and/or their parents.

7.     Confirmation of Player’s Return

-  Signed statement from the organizers of the exchange program OR the player’s parents that the player will return to their home country upon completion of the program.

8.     Documentation of Academic Education

-  Signed statement from the player’s school in the host country that indicates the start and end date of enrollment.

-  MUST include the student’s detailed hourly class schedule.

9.     Confirmation from School in Home Country

-  Signed confirmation of the player’s participation in the exchange program from the player’s school in their home country.

10.  Documentation of Accommodation

-  Passport OR driver’s license for the host parent(s).

-  Recently issued (within 6 months) utility bill addressed to a host parent at the address.

11.  Status of New Club and Duration of Registration

-  Letter from club stating the anticipated dates of participation of the player with the club and whether the club has any legal, financial, or de facto links to a professional club and describing such links, if present

12.  Authorization of Host Parents

-  Signed statement from the player’s host parents giving their consent to the player’s registration for the club.

-  Must include the player’s name, club name, and host parent signatures.

13.  Biological Parents Authorization

-  Signed statement from the player’s biological parents giving their consent to the player’s registration for the club.

-  Must include the player’s name, club name, and host parent signatures.

14.  ITC/FR Registration Form (must be fully populated and signed)

-  ITC Form should be used if the player has previously registered with a club in a foreign country.

-  First Registration Form should be used if the player has NEVER registered outside of the United States.

15.  Club Statement

-  Letter from the club on an official letterhead stating when and how first contact with the player occurred (example: player showed up at tryouts, player is school friend of other players, parents emailed club after researching options in the area, etc.)

-  Signed by club administrator and/or coach

 

PROCESS

A complete application includes the following as described below:

• All fields completed
• Current and accurate information
• Individual documents/attachments in PDF format no larger than 5MB.

 

Applications with missing, incomplete, inaccurate/wrong information, improper formatting will not be considered for review and applicant will be required to resubmit for processing.

 

For this type of international clearance:

1.     Player Status uploads required materials to FIFA TMS for review and approval by FIFA.

2.     FIFA determines if the requirements of the submitted application are met and reviews the supporting documents.

3.     FIFA advises U.S. Soccer of their decision. FIFA does not have a timeline in which they will render a decision.

4.     FIFA decision received:

a.     Approval

                          i.     International Transfer Certificate (ITC) –  Player Status submits a request to FIFA TMS for an ITC for the minor.

                         ii.     First Registration - Player Status reaches out to the foreign Member Association (MA) in the country of birth of the player to verify there has not been any previous registrations for the player.

b.     Rejects or requests additional information

                          i.     Rejected application – FIFA does not provide  grounds for rejection. 

                         ii.     Additional document request – FIFA outlines what additional documents are required and indicates a specific period of time in which Player Status must send the documents. If the documents are not submitted within specified time the application will be rejected and will need to be resubmitted.

 

 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT

Once eligibility is determined, Player Status will notify the applicant and those copied on the original submission.

 

FIRST REGISTRATION

Per FIFA regulations, the MA has seven (7) days to respond to U.S. Soccer on the requested First Registration.   

•  Player is eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

o   No response is received after seven (7) days from the MA

 
OR

o   The MA confirms there is no record of previous registration for the player

• Player is NOT eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

o   The MA confirms there is record of previous registrations for the player

 

Previously registered players with foreign MAs will have to resubmit an application indicating the correct club/team/league with which they were registered last abroad.  Player Status must submit the new application to FIFA for review and approval prior to being permitted to request an ITC for the player.

 

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER CERTIFICATE

Per FIFA regulations, the releasing MA has seven (7) days to respond to U.S. Soccer.  Player is eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

•  The releasing MA approves the ITC and transfers the certificate to Player Status

OR

• The releasing MA does not respond to the request and on the eighth (8^th) day FIFA TMS will provide Player Status the option to record a provisional clearance.

 

If the application received by Player Status contains incorrect information, i.e. incorrect previous club name, the releasing MA will reject the player details and ITC request.  Applicant will be required to resubmit an updated application.

 

 

 

Please note, Player Status is unable to provide/respond to status updates requests. Once an application has an update, all relevant parties will be notified accordingly.