International breaks can leave clubs counting the cost. Under FIFA’s Club Protection Programme, clubs whose players suffer injuries while on international duty are awarded compensation in certain circumstances. The issue has come into focus during the extended September/October international break, which still has two full rounds of fixtures to play. Premier League players Bruno Fernandes, Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak, Nico O’Reilly, Kai Havertz, Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard are among those already injured in the break. Real Madrid striker and France captain Kylian Mbappé has also sustained an injury during this period.
The threshold for compensation is clear: a player must pick up a new injury on international duty that prevents them from taking part in full training or matches for at least 28 continuous days. If that condition is met, the club is entitled to financial compensation from the FIFA Club Protection Programme. The package is based on the player’s salary and covers international breaks in which senior A matches are played on dates in the international match calendar.
The covered period begins when the player leaves their home or parent club’s address to report for international duty. It continues until either midnight local time on the day they return home or 48 hours after they leave their national team, whichever comes first. Compensation is paid directly to clubs by FIFA. Only salary is covered; bonuses and one-off payments in a player’s contract are not taken into account.
There is a cap on what a club can receive. A maximum of €7.5m can be compensated, at a daily pro rata rate of €20,548 per day. That maximum would apply to a player who misses a full year, with 365 days the most compensation a club can claim for one player. A club can only receive compensation for the same player and same injury for a maximum of 365 days.
Not every injury falls within the programme. Pre-existing injuries that reoccur during an international period are not covered. However, if a player sustains an injury that later reoccurs less than 30 days later, the club is entitled to compensation. Payments stop if the player returns to full training or matches, the player’s contract expires, the player changes occupation, or the club has received the maximum permitted compensation for that individual. The programme also does not cover players who become sick, are permanently disabled or die. The same applies to self-inflicted injuries or cases where a player attempts to take their own life.
For clubs, the key is whether the injury is fresh, whether it keeps the player out for the 28-day threshold, and whether the international window qualifies under the calendar. With several top-flight players already affected in this break, the scheme’s rules will be relevant as clubs assess the cost of absences.