Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. training-compensation dispute at CAS; EUR 144,986.30 training compensation awarded to CPA

Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. training-compensation dispute at CAS; EUR 144,986.30 training compensation awarded to CPA

CAS 2025/A/11492 Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. v. Cheman des Parcelles Assainies, Fédération Sénégalaise de Football and FIFA

ARBITRAL AWARD

delivered by the

COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT

sitting in the following composition:

Sole arbitrator: Mr Olivier Carrard, Attorney-at-Law, Geneva, Switzerland

in the arbitration between

Club Deportivo Leganés, Spain Represented by Mr Martín César García Ortega, Attorney-at-Law in Madrid, Spain

• Appellant -

and

Cheman des Parcelles Assainies, Senegal

• First Respondent -

Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, Senegal

• Second Respondent -

Fédération Internationale de Football Association, Switzerland Represented by Mr Miguel Liétard Fernández-Palacios, Litigation Sub-Division, United States of America

• Third Respondent -

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I. FACTS 1. Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. (the “Appellant” or “Leganés”) is a professional football club affiliated to the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (“the Royal Spanish Football Federation” or “RFEF”). 2. Cheman des Parcelles Assainies (the “First Respondent” or “CPA”) is a Senegalese football club affiliated to the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (“the Senegalese Football Federation”, the “Second Respondent” or “FSF”). 3. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (the “Third Respondent” or “FIFA”) is the world governing body for football, who also acts as the legislator in all kinds of football activities. 4. The CPA, FSF and FIFA are jointly referred to as the “Respondents”. 5. The Appellant and the Respondents are jointly referred to as the “Parties”. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 6. Below is a summary of the main relevant facts, as established based on the written submissions of the Parties and the evidence examined during the proceedings. This background information is given for the sole purpose of providing a synopsis of the matter in dispute. Additional facts may be set out, where relevant, in connection with the legal discussion. While the Sole Arbitrator has considered all the facts, allegations, legal arguments and evidence submitted by the Parties in the present proceedings, he refers in this Award only to the submissions and evidence considered necessary to explain his reasoning. 7. The Senegalese player Modou Alpha NDIAYE (the “Player”), born on 3 March 2005, who trained at CPA and then with the Senegalese club Noliane Football Club (“Noliane”), was transferred to the Appellant on 23 February 2024. 8. In accordance with Article 6 of the FIFA Clearing House Regulations (FCHR) and Article 20 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) the international transfer to the Appellant triggered training rewards for the clubs that contributed to the Player’s development. Pursuant to Article 8.1 FCHR, when a training reward is triggered, a provisional Electronic Player Passport (EPP) for the relevant player will be generated by the Transfer Matching System (TMS). 9. On 17 November 2023, the Appellant requested the RFEF to obtain the Player’s passport from the FSF. This request was reiterated on 21 December 2023 and 10 January 2024, to no avail. 10. On 10 January 2024 and 30 January 2024, the Appellant tried to reach the official contacts of the FSF listed in the FIFA TMS, without success.

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On 10 January 2024, the Appellant also reached the FIFA’s Clearing House (FCH) to request answers from the FSF. The FIFA replied that they had no competence. 12. On 30 January 2024, the official TMS contact of Noliane: […]@gmail.com, confirmed that the Player’s Senegalese passport was valid and up to date. 13. On 23 February 2024, the Player’s provisional EPP was generated: EPP ID 39143. 14. On 6 March 2024, the EPP was released for review and the Appellant, RFEF, Noliane and the FSF were added as participants. 15. On 11 March 2024, the Appellant contacted Noliane after being informed by the FIFA that the Player had also been registered with CPA, requesting a waiver of training compensation rights. Mr Sidy Ba answered that the Club Noliane and CPA were both his clubs. 16. On 12, 14 and 19 March 2024, the Appellant requested Mr Sidy Ba to confirm that CPA and Noliane were the same club, with no answer. 17. On 27 March 2024, CPA was added as a participant for the EPP review process. 18. On 16 May 2025, the FIFA general secretariat ordered, through the Allocation Statement TC-21849 (“AS TC-21849”), the Appellant to pay EUR 144,986.30 of training compensation to CPA. 19. On 28 May 2025, Ms Ndeye Gueye, CPA’s authorised legal representative, signed a document which the Appellant alleges to be a waiver of rights to the training compensation which reads as follows: […] “Que, suite au transfert international du joueur au Club Deportivo Leganés S.A.D. (RFEF, Espagne), des droits de formation pourraient être exigibles, conformément à l’article 20 et à l’annexe 4 du Règlement du Statut et du Transfert des Joueurs (édition juin 2024), ainsi qu’aux articles 9 et 10 du Règlement sur le FIFA Clearing House (édition octobre 2022), cette compensation étant couverte par l’ordre d’allocation FIFA AS TC-21849. En conséquence, et aux fins de présentation formelle devant le Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (CAS) ou toute autre instance compétente, le club CHEMAN DES PARCELLES ASSAINIES RENONCE DE MANIÈRE EXPRESSE, VOLONTAIRE ET IRRÉVOCABLE à toute réclamation actuelle ou future, y compris toute demande de somme d’argent, à l’encontre du CLUB DEPORTIVO LEGANÉS, S.A.D., en lien avec les droits de formation découlant du passeport EPP-39143 et de l’ordre d’allocation AS TC-21849”. Freely translated: […] “That, following the international transfer of the player to Club Deportivo Leganés S.A.D. (RFEF, SPAIN), training compensation may be payable in accordance with Article 20 and Appendix 4 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (June 2024 edition), as well as Articles 9 and 10 of the Regulations on the FIFA Clearing House

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(October 2022 edition), with this compensation being covered by FIFA allocation order AS TC-21849. Consequently, and for the purposes of formal presentation before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or any other competent authority, the club CHEMAN DES PARCELLES AISSAINIES EXPRESSLY, VOLUNTARILY AND IRREVOCABLY waives any current or future claim, including any claim for money, against CLUB DEPORTIVO LEGANES, S.A.D., in relation to the training compensation rights arising from passport EPP-39143 and allocation order AS TC-21849”. III. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT 20. On 5 June 2025, the Appellant filed a Statement of Appeal with the CAS, with the following requests for relief: “1. That this statement of appeal be considered formulated in due time and form. 2. That the competence of the CAS to hear the appeal be recognized. 3. That the decision identified as assignment order AS TC 21849 be considered challenged; EPP 39143. 4. That the appellant be granted a period of ten (10) days from the expiration of the appeal period to file his appeal memorandum, in accordance with Article R51 of the CAS Code. 5. That it be indicated how to proceed with the opening of the electronic file of the procedure through the e-filing platform, and that the appellant be authorized to upload the corresponding documentation on said platform as of the business day following this presentation. 6. That, in accordance with Article R29, the language of the proceedings is authorized to be Spanish, both for written submissions and for procedural communications. 7. That the procedure be conducted before a sole arbitrator, in accordance with Article R50, because it is a simple matter, with undisputed facts and that does not require additional technical or legal complexity. 8. That the effects of the appealed decision be suspended, by virtue of the provisions of Article 10.5 d) of the FIFA Clearing House Regulations, while the present arbitration proceedings are resolved, since the payment ordered has subsequently been expressly waived by the beneficiary club and, therefore, executing the decision would entail an unjustified and irreparable financial damage to the appellant”. 21. On 11 June 2025, the Appellant filed its Appeal Brief. 22. During the proceedings, the First and Second Respondents, despite having been served by courier with the proceedings, have never filed any communication with the CAS.

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On 27 August 2025, the CAS Court Office informed the Parties, in accordance with Article R54 of the Code, and on behalf of the Deputy President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, that the arbitral tribunal appointed to decide the present matter was constituted as follows: Sole Arbitrator: Mr Olivier Carrard, Attorney-at-law in Geneva, Switzerland 24. On 19 September 2025, the Third Respondent filed its Answer to the Appeal Brief (the “Answer”). 25. On 24 September 2025, the Appellant filed a letter in response to the Third Respondent’s Answer, by which it offered additional evidence pursuant to Article R56 of the Code. Said additional evidence was subsequently accepted by the Sole Arbitrator and the Appellant was invited to file an additional submission in this regard by 20 October 2025. 26. On 16 October 2025, the Appellant filed its Additional Submission. 27. On 21 October 2025, the Third Respondent filed their Response (the “Response”) to the Appellant’s Additional Submission. 28. On 19 November 2025, the CAS issued an Order of Procedure in accordance with Article R56(2) CAS Code. The Appellant and the Third Respondent provided their signed copy of the Order of Procedure, agreeing to the main elements of the arbitration procedure. By signing the Order of Procedure, they confirmed their right to be heard had been respected. 29. On 25 November 2025, a hearing was held via video-conference. The following persons were in attendance: • The Sole Arbitrator, Mr Olivier Carrard, who was assisted by Mr Francisco Mateo Pavía (CAS Counsel). • On behalf of the Appellant: Mr Martín César García Ortega. • The First and Second Respondents did not attend the hearing. • The FIFA did not attend the hearing and apologised for its absence, given that the dispute concerns the horizontal relationship between the clubs. 30. At the beginning of the hearing, the Sole Arbitrator addressed issues regarding the waiver of training compensation rights. The representative of the Appellant was given the chance to comment on the facts that led to the present proceedings and then gave his closing pleading. 31. Upon closing the hearing, the Appellant expressly stated that it had no objections in relation to its right to be heard. A. The Appellant 32. The Appellant’s submissions, in essence, may be summarised as follows:

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• The Appellant alleges that CPA waived its right to training compensation due to the document signed by Ms Ndeye Gueye on 28 May 2025. • The Appellant claims that the waiver complies with all requirements for it to be admissible and valid. • The Appellant took several actions to confirm the authenticity of the Player’s passport. On 17 November 2023 the Appellant requested the RFEF to obtain the Player’s passport from the FSF. This request was reiterated on 21 December 2023 and 10 January 2024, to no avail. On 10 January 2024 and 30 January 2024, the Appellant tried to reach the official contacts of the FSF listed in the FIFA TMS, without success. On 10 January 2024, the Appellant also reached the FIFA’s Clearing House (FCH) to request answers from the FSF. The FIFA replied that they had no competence. On