This article reviews the development of the regulations contained in Article 19 FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) concerning the prohibition on the transfer of minors and the most important CAS jurisprudence concerning the application of those regulations.

While the rationale behind the regulations has always been understood, the more detailed understanding of their application and implementation has, as is often the case, been assisted by judicial decisions from FIFA and the CAS. As Article 19 did not initially receive a similar level of judicial attention as, for example, Article 17 of the RSTP, the process of enabling a detailed understanding of Article 19 has been slower. Further, the regulations and their application have evolved through both stakeholder input and specific judicial decisions that have highlighted additional exceptions to the prohibition contained in Article 19.

Of course, each case must be considered on its own merits but the intention of the authors is to set out the development of the regulations and the jurisprudence in order that practitioners may draw guidance from what has already been decided.