A report by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) on global transfers today, Thursday, revealed record spending by English clubs on new deals in 2022 for the first time, with the number of international transfers for men and women players reaching record numbers.
The statement, which FIFA shared on its official website, stated that the number of international cross-border transfers for professional players exceeded 20,000 for the first time in the history of the game.
The number of transfers in the men’s category reached 20,209, which represents an increase of 11.6% compared to 2021, and the transfers included 4,770 clubs from 182 different federations, compared to 4,538 clubs in 2021.
The total number of players transferred between clubs reached 17,291 players representing 183 different nationalities, and 2,843 deals required them to pay transfer fees.
The top ten transfers in terms of financial value accounted for about 12.5% of the total amount spent during the year, and the top 100 transactions accounted for 50% of the total amount spent.
English clubs topped the list of the most spent, with total spending reaching nearly $2.2 billion for the first time in their history.
On the sale level, the French League ranked first in terms of revenue, as club revenues from deals amounted to about $740 million.
Portugal came in first place in terms of the number of players coming in, with about 901 players, while Brazil was, as usual, the country that exported the most, with about 998 deals during the year.
FIFA Annual International Transfer Report: Unprecedented numbers in 2022
⬅More than 20,000 international transfers for professional men for the first time in the history of the game
⬅An increase in the number of international transfers for women by 19%
⬅50,000 amateur players joined a new club in a new country
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- FIFA.com - Arabic (@fifacom_ar) January 26, 2023
FIFA Head of Legal Affairs Emilio Garcia commented on the statement, saying, “The year 2022 witnessed a change in the negative trend that had been recorded for two years in club spending on player transfers, as the total spending amounted to $ 6.5 billion, an increase of 33.5% compared to the outcome of 2021, but it does not Still short of the record set in 2019.
On the women's level, the report confirmed the continuation of the recent growth, as 500 clubs participated in transfers this year, compared to only 410 in 2021.
During 2022, about 1,555 international transfers were recorded, an increase of 19.3% over the previous year, and 119 local federations participated in it, setting a new record, and 49,238 amateur players joined a club in a new country.
Garcia believed that these numbers reflect the amazing strides that have been made in this field, and highlight the significant increase in the number of professional female players.
Amateur football greatly outperformed the professional game in 2022, with a total of 49,238 transfers representing more than 200 nationalities, and 92.3% of them were in the men's category.
The report pointed to the great impact of the Ukrainian-Russian war on the number of deals, as Ukrainian amateur players constituted the largest category of transfers abroad, with a total of 5,910 transfers, far behind their French counterparts, who came in second place with 3,661 transfers.