Transfer window dates 2026-27: every major league
By Mariano David Pérez Co-founder
The transfer window dates for 2026-27 are set country by country, not by FIFA: FIFA only requires two registration periods per season and caps how long they can run. Europe’s big five leagues all closed their summer window on 1 September 2026 and reopen on 1 or 2 January 2027 until 1 February. Elsewhere the calendar is different: Brazil and Mexico closed on 11 September, MLS on 2 September.
Updated on 22 September 2026. An association may change a date until the day before the period starts, and some extend a deadline at short notice: before closing a deal, confirm the date with the league or association that will register the player.
What does FIFA mean by a registration period?
“Transfer window” is the everyday name; the rulebook calls it a registration period. The rule sits in article 6 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP, January 2025 edition):
- Players may only be registered during one of the two annual registration periods fixed by the relevant association.
- The first period may begin the day after the previous season’s competition period ended, and no later than the first day of the new season. It lasts between eight and 12 weeks.
- The second period falls in the middle of the season and lasts between four and eight weeks.
- Together they may not exceed 16 weeks.
- The dates are entered in FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS) 12 months ahead. If an association fails to communicate them, FIFA sets them.
FIFA circular no. 1892 (3 July 2024) adds a practical point: an association may modify the dates of a period already entered in TMS until that period commences, not after.
Note what the rule governs: registration, not negotiation. A club can agree a transfer in November. What it cannot do is register the player until its window opens.
Why do the dates differ from country to country?
The dates differ because each association builds its two periods around its own season, and seasons do not line up.
- August-to-May against the calendar year. In Europe the long window is the northern summer and the short one is January. In Brazil the league runs through the calendar year, so the long window is January to March and the short one July to September.
- Each league picks within the margin. In 2026 England and France opened on 15 June and Italy on 29 June, while Spain and Germany waited until 1 July. All five closed on the same day.
- Extensions and local exceptions. Liga Portugal moved its deadline to 4 September, and the Argentine FA extended its own to 31 July, with a separate deadline to replace a player sold abroad.
One point explains most real-life cases: the window that counts is the buying club’s. Article 6 refers to the period “applicable to the engaging club”. A player can leave a country whose window is shut for one where it is open; what the selling club cannot do is register his replacement.
What are the transfer window dates for 2026-27, league by league?
The table only carries dates confirmed by the league or the association, and each country links to its official announcement. Where we could not find an official confirmation, it says “to be confirmed”.
| Country (league) | First window | Second window |
|---|---|---|
| England (Premier League) | 15 June – 1 September 2026, 23:00 | 1 January – 1 February 2027, 23:00 |
| France (Ligue 1 and Ligue 2) | 15 June – 1 September 2026, 19:59 | 1 January – 1 February 2027, 19:59 |
| Italy (Serie A) | 29 June – 1 September 2026, 20:00 | 2 January – 1 February 2027, 20:00 |
| Spain | 1 July – 1 September 2026, 23:59 | 2 January – 1 February 2027, 23:59 |
| Germany (Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga) | 1 July – 1 September 2026, 20:00 | 1 January – 1 February 2027, 20:00 |
| Portugal (Liga Portugal) | 1 July – 4 September 2026, 23:59 | 4 January – 1 February 2027, 23:59 |
| Brazil (2026 season) | 5 January – 3 March 2026 | 20 July – 11 September 2026 |
| United States (MLS, 2026 season) | 26 January – 26 March 2026 | 13 July – 2 September 2026 |
| Mexico (Liga MX, Apertura 2026) | 2 July – 11 September 2026, 23:59 | Clausura 2027: 1 January – 9 February 2027 |
| Argentina (Liga Profesional, Clausura 2026) | 26 May – 31 July 2026, 14:00 | First period of 2027: to be confirmed |
All times are local. Each source is listed in full at the end of the article.
Five notes on the table:
- Germany. The DFL’s player licensing regulations set the second window at 1–31 January by default and allow the league’s board to move it. 31 January 2027 is a Sunday, and on 10 June 2026 the board decided that the window closes on Monday 1 February at 20:00 (footnote 1 to § 4 of the regulations, version of 1 July 2026).
- Portugal. There is an extra deadline, 8 September 2026, to register loans of players aged up to 23 who were trained at the lending club.
- Brazil. On top of its two windows, the CBF opened a complementary period from 4 to 27 March 2026 for domestic transfers only. Dates for 2027 have not been published yet.
- Mexico. We could not find a Liga MX announcement with the opening dates: the dates in the table are the ones the Mexican FA entered in FIFA’s system, which FIFA publishes in its registration periods by association. The league may set an earlier deadline of its own for registrations.
- Argentina. After 31 July, clubs that sold or loaned a player abroad could add a replacement until 2 September at 18:00, subject to conditions on how many matches that player had featured in.
MLS adds a deadline that is not a window, the roster freeze on 9 October 2026, and is changing its calendar from 2027: its next dates are worth checking once the league publishes them.
Can a free agent sign outside the transfer window?
Yes, but not every free agent. Article 6, paragraph 3 of the RSTP authorises associations to register players outside a registration period in these cases:
- Contract expired or mutually terminated before the deadline. A professional whose contract has naturally expired or has been mutually terminated before the end of the registration period applicable to the engaging club may be registered after it closes. A player who agrees a mutual termination a week after the deadline is not covered.
- Unilateral termination. A professional who terminated with just cause, or whose club terminated without just cause, may be registered outside a period.
- Maternity-related cover, in the women’s game: the temporary replacement of a player on leave, and her own return.
Two limits apply. The same article asks associations to protect the sporting integrity of the competition, and many leagues add rules of their own: in Germany, for instance, a player who was out of contract when the first window closed can move until 31 December, under the DFL’s licensing regulations. And being registered is not the same as being eligible: roster lists and competition quotas have their own deadlines.
One development to watch: FIFA approved a new edition of the RSTP on 10 June 2026, due to come into force on 1 January 2027. The changes concern contract termination and compensation rather than registration periods: in the text of the new edition, now published, article 6 is unchanged.
How does an agency keep track of the windows?
Where to push. With Europe shut until January, a deal in October is only possible into a market that is still open, or with a player who became a free agent before the deadline.
When the fee starts to come in. An agent’s service fee is paid in installments that start after the registration period closes, as we explain in how much soccer agents earn.
Which contracts expire before the next window. A player whose contract ends in December reaches January as a free agent; one whose contract ends in June negotiates from a different position.
In The Scout Arena, transfer windows by country are part of transfer market tracking: the screen shows which markets are open today, alongside club requests. And contract expiry alerts warn you in good time whose contract is running out.
In short
FIFA requires two registration periods per season — eight to 12 weeks for the first, four to eight for the second, 16 at most between them — and each association sets the dates. In 2026-27, Europe closed on 1 September (Portugal on the 4th) and reopens on 1 or 2 January (Portugal on the 4th) until 1 February 2027; Brazil and Mexico closed on 11 September, MLS on the 2nd and Argentina on 31 July. Outside the window, only players who were free before the deadline, or who terminated with just cause, can be registered.
Sources
Consulted on 22 September 2026.
- FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, January 2025 edition, article 6.
- FIFA circular no. 1892, 3 July 2024.
- Registration periods by association, published by FIFA.
- FIFA’s announcement of 10 June 2026 on the new regulatory framework, and the text of the January 2027 edition.
- England: 2026-27 window dates on the Premier League’s official site.
- France: LFP transfer dates for 2026/2027, set by its board on 21 May 2026 (in French).
- Italy: FIGC official communiqué no. 235/A, 27 May 2026, issued by its president under a delegation from the federal council (in Italian).
- Spain: Spanish FA competition rules for the Primera and Segunda División, 2026/2027, article 23 (in Spanish).
- Germany: DFL player licensing regulations (Lizenzordnung Spieler), version of 1 July 2026, § 4 and its footnote 1 (in German).
- Portugal: Liga Portugal registration deadlines for 2026-27, under its official communiqué no. 1 of 1 July 2026 (in Portuguese).
- Brazil: Brazilian FA 2026 calendar, 4 October 2025 (in Portuguese).
- United States: MLS announcement of its 2026 windows and of its calendar change from 2027.
- Argentina: Argentine FA bulletin no. 6922, 21 July 2026 (in Spanish).
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
