Retain and transfer system

The retain and transfer system was a restriction that existed in England from 1893 until 1963 on the freedom of professional association football players to transfer from one Football League club to another. The system remained in place until the High Court ruled in 1963 that it was an unjustifiable restraint of trade.

In 1885, faced with the threat of a breakaway British Football Association by 31 clubs, the Football Association relented to professional players being paid by their clubs for playing. Even then, the vast majority of players had other employment and only supplemented their wages by playing football.

Soon after, the Football Association introduced a registration system for players. Before that, a player could agree to play one or more games for any football club. After the Football Association recognized professionalism in 1885, it sought to control professional players by introducing a player registration system. Players had to register with a club each season, even if he remained with the same club from the season before. A player was not allowed to play until he was registered for that season. Once a player was registered with a club, he was not allowed to be registered with or play for another club during the same season without the permission of the Football Association and the club that held his registration. However, players were free to join another club before the start of each season, even if their former club wished to retain them.

The need for regular fixtures to earn sufficient revenue to afford player wages led to the formation of the Football League in 1888.

As the Football League grew in popularity, the leading players of the day were in great demand, and commanded ever-increasing wages. Players signed annual contracts with their clubs. If a club wished to retain a player for the following season, it would offer him a new contract. If the player declined the new contract, he could sign a contract with another club, and the player would be registered with the new club. Major reasons a player might move to a new club was that the club was more successful, or that it was prepared to pay him a higher wage.

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