contract registration

This area is responsible for all processes associated with the registration of sports employment contracts and registrations of the various Sports Professionals in the Professional Football sector in Portugal.

Its primary function is to receive, analyse, and register employment contracts of players and coaches, any changes to their clauses - and their termination - temporary concessions and revocations of these, as well as the registration and licensing of these players, coaches, and other sports agents in professional competitions.

In the 2022/2023 sports season, and as in previous seasons, the main phases relating to the activity of registering contracts and registering players, which are closely monitored by this Department, will occur in the following periods:

• 1st Registration Period - July and August 2022;

• 2nd Registration Period - January 2023;

Besides the periods above-mentioned, there are also the following regulatory exceptions that also allow the request for registration and enrolment of:

• "unemployed players" - who can arrive until the last day of February 2023;

• Players replacing other players registered and included in the squad due to: death of a player, serious injury of a goalkeeper or his substitute, serious injury of a player at the service of his National Team - which may occur throughout the sports season;

• Academy players who have represented the club in the last two seasons are allowed to enrol throughout the sports season.

This way, the validations to be made will depend on the sending of the files by the Sports Societies, with all the documentation required by law, and within the respective deadlines, files that are sent to the FPF for the purposes of final approval, and will also control the maximum limits of players to be enrolled in each squad, under the regulatory terms.

This department also registers notices from the FPF regarding transfers, definitive or on loan, of players to foreign clubs.

With regard to coaches and other sports agents, their registration and enrolment processes may take place throughout the entire sports season.

All registration and enrolment processes for players, coaches and other sports agents are carried out exclusively through the TRANSFER software platform.

It is also their responsibility, once the registration processes of the different sports agents have been approved, to issue the respective licence cards to be presented on match day.

In the 2022-23 sports season, the monitoring of compliance with salaries paid to players and coaches by the Sports Societies participating in professional competitions, and which occurs, under the regulatory terms, at four moments throughout the sports season, will continue to be monitored by the Registration of Contracts Department, in conjunction with the Financial department.

It allows the assessment of whether the Sports Societies are complying with this requirement, as defined in the Regulations of the Competitions of Liga Portugal, under penalty of being sanctioned under the terms of the Disciplinary Regulations of Liga Portugal.

Within this scope, the Contract Registration department will collaborate with the Finance department in the analysis of the documentation submitted by the Sports Societies, namely the documentation related to the absence of debts regarding salaries to players and coaches. Failure to comply will result in a penalty/sanction.

Following what has been done in previous seasons, the area of Registration of Contracts under the protocol signed between the Foreigners and Borders Service, Liga Portugal, the Portuguese Football Federation and the Union of Professional Football Players, and defined procedure, and whenever a player participating in professional competitions needs a residence permit, will continue to assist the Sports Societies, in conjunction with the point of contact with the SEF, with the processes of regularisation and obtaining the respective residence permit for the player.

Considering the regulatory obligation of having a doctor on the bench in every game organised by Liga Portugal, in each sports season, and within the scope of the cooperation protocol established between both entities, a list with the name of the doctors registered by each Sports Society participating in the professional competitions is shared with the AMEF.

Each year, Liga Portugal, in accordance with the provisions of its General Regulations, will draw up a list of players to whom the Clubs or Sports Societies have communicated their willingness to renew the sports employment contract, subject to the minimum conditions laid down in the aforementioned regulations, and have informed the League by June 11.

If the player signs a sports employment contract with another employer after the termination of the previous one, the former club or sports society shall be given the right to receive compensation for the amount established in the aforementioned list.

Until the 15th of June of each year, the referred list is prepared by the Registration of Contracts department and sent to the Union of Professional Football Players and the Portuguese Football Federation, with the knowledge of the Sports Societies participating in the Professional Competitions.

DSince the 2018-19 season, all registration and enrolment processes for players, technical staffs, medical teams and other sports professionals are carried out exclusively through this platform, which is integrated into the technological ecosystem of Liga Portugal, and whose main objective was to promote the modernisation of the entire process of registration and enrolment of employment contracts, of the different sports professionals in Liga Portugal, thus allowing to move from a physical process to an exclusively online and digital process, with full security.

With a view to continuous improvement of the platform, it is under constant monitoring so that we can identify new needs, and during the sports season, training sessions may also be held, under the initiative of Liga Portugal or at the request of the Sports Societies, for the presentation of new features, clarification of doubts, inputs and involvement of the various people responsible for the use of this tool.