On Thursday, January 11, FIFA unveiled an updated database highlighting clubs barred from registering new players. The list encompasses prominent African teams, six in Saudi Arabia, and five in the Argentine championship.

Among the sanctioned clubs are notable entities like San Lorenzo (Argentina), Wydad (Morocco), and TP Mazembe (DRC), all of which have secured continental championships and participated in the FIFA Club World Cup since 2010.

FIFA imposes bans, typically spanning two or three transfer windows, on clubs that violate transfer rules or have outstanding transfer debts to other clubs. Resolving the debt can lift the bans, as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr, which reached a settlement with Leicester last year.

While clubs facing registration bans can sign new players, they are unable to field them in matches due to their inability to register them with the national federation. Over the past decade, football giants Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid have all faced registration bans related to youth player signings, with the bans often suspended until the completion of appeals.

The current list includes three participants from the inaugural season of the African Football League: Wydad (Morocco), Esperance (Tunisia), and TP Mazembe (DRC). Zamalek of Egypt is also on the list, but details of its case remain undisclosed.

FIFA, in a statement, stated that the primary purpose of this database is to offer stakeholders, including players and clubs, as well as the public, an overview of clubs currently restricted from registering new players.

Notably, the database features cases involving Chinese clubs and numerous instances in Ukraine where clubs suffered financial losses due to disruptions caused by the Russian military invasion.