FIFA Races Toward a Plan to Help Soccer Clubs Survive Shutdown

Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

With soccer’s global calendar upended by the coronavirus, FIFA is scrambling to draft new regulations for player contracts and transactions between clubs in an effort to create a road map out of the sport's unprecedented shutdown.

Lawyers at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters have huddled (virtually) with representatives from leagues, clubs and players unions to provide a framework to deal with the cascading issues created by the pandemic.

With leagues across the world idle — many nearing the end of their seasons — and thousands of athletes at home, unable to practice, clubs are increasingly concerned about their financial futures. Many of them have implemented patchwork measures…