CAS Case Digest · Verified against the full award text

CAS 2024/A/10470 — Havre Athletic Club Football Association v. Association Sportive du Kaloum SA

"Le Havre v. AS Kaloum" · CAS annulled a EUR 231,698.62 training compensation award and remitted to FIFA DRC due to conflicting decisions on when the player first attained professional status.

What happened in Le Havre v. AS Kaloum

Guinean player Salifou Soumah (born 3 October 2003) was trained by AS Kaloum before signing a professional contract with Kayserispor on 5 January 2022, though he was never registered as a professional with either AS Kaloum or Kayserispor in any player passport. He was first formally registered as a professional when he joined Le Havre in August 2022. AS Kaloum claimed EUR 243,287.67 in training compensation from Le Havre before the FIFA DRC. On 14 December 2023, the FIFA DRC partially upheld the claim, ordering Le Havre to pay EUR 231,698.62 plus 5% interest p.a. from 1 October 2022. Le Havre appealed to CAS. During CAS proceedings, a separate FIFA DRC decision (the Atouga DRC Decision of 1 October 2024) involving the same player and Le Havre reached the opposite conclusion — finding that the player had already attained professional status with Kayserispor (and possibly AS Kaloum) before joining Le Havre, and rejecting Académie Atouga's training compensation claim on that basis. Faced with two irreconcilable FIFA DRC decisions on identical facts, the CAS panel annulled the Appealed Decision and referred the matter back to FIFA DRC to determine definitively when the player first acquired professional status. The case matters because it highlights the tension between formal registration records and the substantive definition of professional status under FIFA RSTP Art. 2(2), and the obligation of FIFA to maintain consistent jurisprudence on training compensation triggers.

Procedural history of CAS 2024/A/10470

AS Kaloum lodged a claim before the FIFA DRC on 19 January 2023 seeking EUR 243,287.67 in training compensation from Le Havre, arguing that Le Havre's registration of the player as a professional for the first time triggered the obligation under FIFA RSTP Art. 20. On 14 December 2023, the FIFA DRC (Ref. TMS 12183) partially accepted the claim and ordered Le Havre to pay EUR 231,698.62 plus 5% interest p.a. from 1 October 2022, and allocated USD 20,000 of the USD 25,000 procedural costs to Le Havre. The grounds were notified to Le Havre on 22 March 2024. Le Havre filed its Statement of Appeal with CAS on 29 March 2024 and its Appeal Brief on 19 April 2024. FIFA was excluded from proceedings at its own request, accepted by Le Havre on 17 April 2024. The Respondent filed its Answer on 22 July 2024. The panel decided without a hearing.

Key holdings in CAS 2024/A/10470

• The trigger for training compensation under Art. 20 FIFA RSTP is the player's first registration as a professional, not merely the signing of a professional contract, following FIFA Circular No. 1709 of 13 February 2020.
• A player who signs a written contract providing remuneration exceeding actual expenses meets the definition of a professional under Art. 2(2) FIFA RSTP, regardless of whether the relevant national association formally registers him as such.
• Where two FIFA DRC decisions based on identical facts reach contradictory conclusions on when a player first attained professional status, the later CAS appeal decision must be annulled and the matter referred back to FIFA DRC for a consistent determination.
• CAS's power under Art. R57 of the CAS Code to refer a case back to the previous instance is appropriate where doing so better protects the parties' right to be heard, preserves double-instance rights, and allows FIFA to consolidate its jurisprudence.
• The existence and validity of the Second Contract (Kayserispor) was confirmed by the FIFA DRC 2022 Decision (Ref. FPSD-6634), which ordered Kayserispor to pay outstanding salaries and compensation for breach of contract, notwithstanding the player's non-registration with Kayserispor in the TFF player passport.

How the CAS panel reasoned

The panel conducted a de novo review under Art. R57 CAS Code. It first examined the player's status under Art. 2(2) FIFA RSTP, concluding that all three contracts — with AS Kaloum (GNF 3,000,000/month ≈ CHF 315), Kayserispor (EUR 700/month), and Le Havre — satisfied the professional definition because each provided written remuneration exceeding actual expenses. The panel then focused on the registration trigger in Art. 20 FIFA RSTP as amended by FIFA Circular No. 1709 (2020), which shifted the operative event from 'signing' to 'registration' as a professional. On the passports, the player was only ever registered as a professional upon joining Le Havre. However, the panel was confronted with the Atouga DRC Decision of 1 October 2024, which — on the same facts — found that the Second Contract with Kayserispor met the Art. 2(2) criteria and therefore the player had already been a professional before Le Havre, rejecting Académie Atouga's claim. The panel rejected the Respondent's argument that the Atouga DRC Decision was contra legem. Finding it impossible to reconcile the two FIFA DRC decisions, the panel declined to substitute its own finding on the professional status question, reasoning that referral back better protected double-instance rights and gave FIFA the opportunity to harmonise its jurisprudence, citing CAS 2006/A/1301.

Why Le Havre v. AS Kaloum matters in CAS jurisprudence

This award illustrates the systemic risk created when FIFA DRC issues contradictory decisions on identical facts involving the same player and the same triggering club. The panel's decision to annul rather than substitute its own finding signals that CAS will protect double-instance rights and compel FIFA to harmonise its training compensation jurisprudence, particularly on the interplay between the formal registration requirement introduced by FIFA Circular No. 1709 (2020) and the substantive professional-status definition in Art. 2(2) FIFA RSTP. It also confirms that a contract acknowledged as valid by a prior FIFA DRC ruling can affect training compensation chains even where no formal registration occurred.

Cases cited in this award

CAS 2006/A/1301

Frequently asked questions about Le Havre v. AS Kaloum

Why did CAS annul the training compensation award against Le Havre instead of simply deciding the case itself?

The panel found that two FIFA DRC decisions based on identical facts — the Appealed Decision (TMS 12183) and the Atouga DRC Decision (TMS 13757 of 1 October 2024) — reached contradictory conclusions on when Salifou Soumah first attained professional status. Rather than substitute its own finding, the panel annulled the Appealed Decision and referred the matter back to FIFA DRC, citing the parties' right to a double instance and FIFA's need to consolidate its jurisprudence on Art. 20 FIFA RSTP, consistent with CAS 2006/A/1301.

Does a player need to be formally registered as a professional for training compensation to be triggered under the current FIFA RSTP?

Yes. Following FIFA Circular No. 1709 of 13 February 2020, Art. 20 FIFA RSTP was amended to require that a player be 'registered for the first time as a professional' rather than merely 'sign his first contract as a professional.' The panel in this case confirmed that registration — not contract signature — is the operative trigger. However, the Atouga DRC Decision raised the question whether a contract that meets the Art. 2(2) definition but was never formally registered could still count, which is precisely the unresolved issue referred back to FIFA.

What was the training compensation amount at stake in Le Havre v. AS Kaloum, and how was it calculated?

AS Kaloum originally claimed EUR 243,287.67 from Le Havre. The FIFA DRC partially accepted the claim and ordered Le Havre to pay EUR 231,698.62 plus 5% interest per annum from 1 October 2022, and allocated USD 20,000 of the USD 25,000 procedural costs to Le Havre. The CAS panel annulled this award in its entirety and referred the matter back to FIFA DRC.

Can a club waive its training compensation rights in a transfer agreement under FIFA RSTP?

The Transfer Agreement between AS Kaloum and Kayserispor dated 5 January 2022 contained an express clause by which AS Kaloum 'irrevocably waives right to raise a claim before competent judicial and arbitral bodies regarding Solidarity and Training Compensation entitlements which are regulated under respective article 20 and 21 of FIFA RSTP.' The CAS panel did not rule on the enforceability of this waiver because it annulled the Appealed Decision on other grounds and referred the matter back to FIFA DRC, leaving this question open for the remitted proceedings.

Topics: Training compensation & solidarity at CAS

Source: official award. This digest was generated by LexXi from the full award text and machine-verified against it — every figure, article and citation above appears in the source. It is an editorial summary, not legal advice. See how ElevenLex verification works.