Loan (football)
Encyclopedia
In sport
s, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long.
Players may be loaned out to other clubs for several reasons. Most commonly, young players will be loaned to a club in a lower league in order to gain valuable first team experience. In this instance, the parent club may continue to pay the player's wages in full. Some clubs put a formal arrangement in place with a feeder club
for this purpose, such as Manchester United
and Royal Antwerp, or Arsenal
and Beveren
.
A club may take a player on loan if they are short on transfer funds but can still pay wages, or as temporary cover for injuries or suspensions. The parent club might demand a fee and/or that the loaning club pays some or all of the player's wages during the loan period. A club might seek to loan out a squad player to make a saving on his wages, or a first team player to regain match fitness following an injury.
A loan may be made to get around a transfer window
. Such a loan might include an agreed fee for a permanent transfer when the next transfer window opens.
Some players are loaned because they are unhappy or in dispute with their current club and no other club wishes to buy them permanently. Examples of this situation include Henri Camara
with Wolverhampton Wanderers
and Craig Bellamy
with Newcastle United
.
In the Premier League, players on loan are not permitted to play against the team which holds their registration (section 7.2 of rule M.6). This can mean that one of the 'big' clubs might loan out a promising young player to an opposing team in the Premiership and then enjoy watching the player do their very best against the 'big' team's rivals, whilst not being available to do any damage to their 'owning' club. Loanees are, however, allowed to play against their 'owning' clubs in cup competitions.
, clubs are permitted to take players on as unpaid triallists even for competitive fixtures. For the first two weeks of a trial period players' names are obfuscated; match reports use the convention "A Triallist" to refer to such players in lieu of using their real names.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long.
Players may be loaned out to other clubs for several reasons. Most commonly, young players will be loaned to a club in a lower league in order to gain valuable first team experience. In this instance, the parent club may continue to pay the player's wages in full. Some clubs put a formal arrangement in place with a feeder club
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
for this purpose, such as Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Royal Antwerp, or Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Beveren
K.S.K. Beveren
Koninklijke Sportkring Beveren was a Belgian association football club from the town of Beveren in East Flanders. It was famous for its goalkeeping school that has produced such players as Jean-Marie Pfaff, Filip De Wilde, Geert De Vlieger, Erwin Lemmens, and Tristan Peersman, all of whom have...
.
A club may take a player on loan if they are short on transfer funds but can still pay wages, or as temporary cover for injuries or suspensions. The parent club might demand a fee and/or that the loaning club pays some or all of the player's wages during the loan period. A club might seek to loan out a squad player to make a saving on his wages, or a first team player to regain match fitness following an injury.
A loan may be made to get around a transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...
. Such a loan might include an agreed fee for a permanent transfer when the next transfer window opens.
Some players are loaned because they are unhappy or in dispute with their current club and no other club wishes to buy them permanently. Examples of this situation include Henri Camara
Henri Camara
Henri Camara is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a striker for Greek Superleague side Panetolikos.-Early career:Camara was born in Dakar to a Guinean father and a Senegalese mother...
with Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
and Craig Bellamy
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...
with Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
.
In the Premier League, players on loan are not permitted to play against the team which holds their registration (section 7.2 of rule M.6). This can mean that one of the 'big' clubs might loan out a promising young player to an opposing team in the Premiership and then enjoy watching the player do their very best against the 'big' team's rivals, whilst not being available to do any damage to their 'owning' club. Loanees are, however, allowed to play against their 'owning' clubs in cup competitions.
Unpaid trialists
In the Scottish Football LeagueScottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
, clubs are permitted to take players on as unpaid triallists even for competitive fixtures. For the first two weeks of a trial period players' names are obfuscated; match reports use the convention "A Triallist" to refer to such players in lieu of using their real names.