FIFA threaten Athletic Club with two-year transfer embargo

Originally posted on Football Espana | By John Menzies | Last updated Feb 12, 2026 3:24 PM ET

Athletic Club has one of the most unique transfer policies in world football, but they may not be able to use it until 2028, as they have appeared on the list of clubs on FIFA Registration Bans, the digital platform of world football’s governing body.

As reported by Marca, appearing on this list indicates that Athletic would be subject to an imminent transfer embargo, which would last until the winter window of 2028. This would mean Los Leones would be unable to register any new signings during the summer transfer windows of 2026 and 2027, as well as next January.

Athletic expect to have embargo removed imminently

Understandably, this will cause a lot of concern among supporters. Athletic have already had signing issues this season, when they had to wait to register the signing of Aymeric Laporte after issues in their deal with Al-Nassr. On that outcome, there was a positive outcome, and the club expects another in this case.

The aforementioned embargo can be removed if FIFA deems it necessary, and in Athletic’s case, it is hoped this will happen in the next couple of days. Their issue relates to a discrepancy over player rights, which they expect to be solved in the next 24 hours. Once that happens, it would open the door for their ban to be taken away, thus allowing them to operate normally in the transfer market.

While there is no doubt that signing players is more challenging for Athletic compared to other players, they have been rather effective at it over the years. It would be a significant blow were their transfer embargo to stand, but the current feeling is that it will be lifted once this reported issue has been sorted. But until then, there will be an air of uncertainty and uneasiness about the situation.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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