The Solidarity Contribution (also known as the Solidarity Payment) is one of the most frequently tested topics in the FIFA Agent Exam. It regularly appears in RSTP-related scenario questions and is a common reason candidates lose valuable marks. 

For candidates preparing for the 2027 FIFA Agent Exam, solidarity contribution scenarios are one of the guaranteed questions that will come out.

What is the Solidarity Contribution?

In the football transfer market, rewarding the grassroots clubs that invest in developing young talent is a foundational pillar of FIFA’s financial redistribution system. If a professional player transfers between clubs affiliated with two different national associations (an international transfer) before the expiry of their employment contract, 5% of any agreed transfer compensation must be deducted and distributed to the clubs that trained the player between the seasons of their 12th and 23rd birthdays. This redistribution is known as Solidarity Contribution, governed by Article 21 and Annexe 5 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).

Because both Training Compensation and Solidarity Contribution are designed to compensate the clubs that trained the player between the ages of 12 to 23, both are mostly confused with each other. However, while both are “training rewards,” their triggers, calculations, and age limits are completely different.

Unlike training compensation, which stops being payable after the season of the player’s 23rd birthday, solidarity contribution is payable for the rest of a player’s professional career whenever they transfer for a fee before their contract expires. Whether a player is 19 or 35, a mid-contract transfer fee always triggers the solidarity mechanism.

When Solidarity Contribution is NOT Due.

You must have heard, “FIFA loves the exception.” They will trick you with a beautifully detailed transfer scenario where the correct answer is actually $0.

Here are when Solidarity Contribution is not payable:

1. Domestic transfers (same association). Solidarity Contribution is not due where the transaction is purely domestic with no international dimension. If a player is transferred domestically, and all of his training clubs were also domestic, no solidarity payment is due under FIFA rules (though local domestic FA rules may apply internally)
2. Transfers where no transfer fee is paid (free transfers). Solidarity contribution is calculated based on the percentage of the agreed transfer fee or loan fee. So, if a player transfers on a “free transfer” (no fee paid to the releasing club), solidarity contribution is NOT due. If there is no financial transaction between the clubs, up to 5% of zero remains zero.
3. Others situations include scenarios which would not have ordinarily triggered solidarity contribution. 

How Solidarity Contribution is Calculated.

This is the part candidates most need to memorize precisely, because the exam tests it directly. The 5% solidarity pool is not split equally among the training years. FIFA values the training received in a player’s late teens and early twenties twice as heavily as their early youth years.

Use this exact percentage matrix to run your FIFA exam calculations. Here is the formula for the calculation of solidarity contribution:

Season of Player’s Birthday	Value per Season (% of Solidarity Pool)	True Value (% of Total Gross Transfer Fee)
12th Birthday	5%	0.25%
13th Birthday	5%	0.25%
14th Birthday	5%	0.25%
15th Birthday	5%	0.25%
16th Birthday	10%	0.50%
17th Birthday	10%	0.50%
18th Birthday	10%	0.50%
19th Birthday	10%	0.50%
20th Birthday	10%	0.50%
21st Birthday	10%	0.50%
22nd Birthday	10%	0.50%
23rd Birthday	10%	0.50%
Total (12 Seasons)	100%	5.00% of the gross transfer fee

FIFA Agent Exam Practice Questions & Answers on Solidarity Contribution. 

To see how the exam tests this matrix under extreme time pressure, let’s run a common scenario using our calculation workflow:

• Solidarity Practice Question: A 25-year-old professional player is transferred from Club A (Spain) to Club B (England) for a flat transfer fee of $12,000,000 USD before his contract expires. The player’s Electronic Player Passport (EPP) indicates he was registered with Club C (Argentina) from the day of his 14th birthday until the day of his 18th birthday. How much is Club C entitled to receive?

With BallBusiness, you can solve this under two minutes using this precise 3-step sequence:

Step 1: Isolate the Total Solidarity Pool. Determine the global 5% allocation from the gross transfer fee. For this transaction, the total solidarity pool is $600,000 USD ($12,000,000 x 0.05).

Step 2: Map the Training Seasons and Percentages. Identify the exact age-based seasons the player spent at Club C. He was registered there for four full seasons:

• Season of his 14th birthday = 0.25% of the transfer fee (or 5% of the pool)
• Season of his 15th birthday = 0.25% of the transfer fee (or 5% of the pool)
• Season of his 16th birthday = 0.50% of the transfer fee (or 10% of the pool)
• Season of his 17th birthday = 0.50% of the transfer fee (or 10% of the pool)
• Total percentage for Club C: 0.25% + 0.25% + 0.50% + 0.50% = 1.50% of the total gross transfer fee (or 30% of the solidarity pool).

Step 3: Calculate the Final Entitlement. Multiply the player’s total percentage by the gross transfer fee: $12,000,000 x 1.50% = $180,000 USD. Alternatively, calculate 30% of the $600,000 solidarity pool to reach the same figure of $180,000 USD. For more practice questions, get the 400 Most Common FIFA Agent Exam Questions + 25 Key Concepts to Help You Ace the FIFA Agent Exam with Confidence 

Preparation For the 2027 FIFA Agent Exam

Over the years, solidarity contribution has been one of the areas we hear about most from candidates entering exam preparation, not because the concept is difficult to understand, but because getting the calculation right under time pressure is a different skill entirely. This is one of the challenges our BallBusiness FIFA Agent Exam Preparatory Course addresses, providing candidates with in-depth video content and one-on-one guidance sessions covering the full FIFA Agent Exam syllabus.

Mastering solidarity contribution and training compensation calculations is essential if you intend to pass the FIFA Agent Exam.