FIFA makes first payment to help small clubs and clean up transfer market

ZURICH — The first money processed by a new FIFA finance department was the 159,900 euros (US$172,400) paid to a French amateur club on Monday from the transfer of former youth player Benoit Badiashile to Chelsea.

The Paris-based FIFA Clearing House was created by soccer's governing body to bring more transparency to deals and ensure about $300 million extra each year is paid to lower-ranked clubs.

Clubs worldwide have been missing out on their cut from sales of players they once trained who move in the often-murky multibillion-dollar transfer market.

Badiashile played for eight years at SC Malesherbois before signing for Monaco at the age of 15, according to his profile on the national team website. Monaco sold Badiashile, now 22, to Chelsea in January for a reported fee of about $40 million.

FIFA transfer rules entitle clubs which train players to get a share of future transfer fees. However, the process has been complex and many clubs were unaware of their entitlement.

On Monday, FIFA said it sent the six-figure sum to Malesherbois — more than the club's annual budget — with "similar payments expected from future instalments related to this transfer.''

"It was a fully automated process, in which we just had to follow the instructions provided by the FIFA Clearing House,'' Malesherbois president Emmanuel Esnault said in a FIFA statement.

FIFA said it has prepared hundreds of payment statements totalling more than $18 million since November, which will be made when a compliance process is done. It created more than 7,000 digital player passports.

FIFA chief legal officer Emilio Garcia called the Malesherbois payment a "clear example of the extent to which the FIFA Clearing House will benefit the whole football pyramid in a fair and efficient way, while bringing more integrity to the transfer system.''