The FIFA Regulations, Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2012 edition), states in Article 2 entitled The Status of Players as follows:
"1. Players participating in organized football are either amateurs or professionals.
- A professional is player who has a written contract with a club and is paid more for his footballing activity than expenses he effectively incurs. All other players are considered to be amateurs".
The regulations indicate that amateur players can play in both professional and amateur leagues, and the distinction between an amateur player and a professional player lies in the existence of a contract that regulates payment terms that go beyond reimbursement of expenses.
The ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which dealt with the question of the status of a soccer player in light of the FIFA Regulations, indicates that the entirety of the parties' contractual obligations towards each other should be examined and accordingly determined whether the player was an employee, even if the compensation paid to him was lower than the consideration paid to a professional player. It was held as follows:
"In the view of the above contract obligations, it cannot be questioned in the view of the Panel that there was an employer-employee relationship between the Appellant and the player. From the moment he signed the contract, the Player agreed to perform services exclusively for the Appellant. A situation of directional control, on the part of the Appellant, and subordination, on the part of the Player, is clearly present. In consideration for his services, the Player was entitled not only to a weekly wage and appearance bonuses in the event he played, but also enjoyed other rights such as holidays, disability benefits for a limited time and payment of accommodations. All these advantages clearly exceed the category of cost reimbursements described in Art. 2 para. 2 of the FIFA Regulations". (CAS 2006/A/1027 Blackpool F.C. v. Club Topp Oss (13 July 2006)).