Contract and Loan Extensions for Fixtures beyond the League Campaign

Contract and Loan Extensions for Fixtures beyond the League Campaign

There may be circumstances where the projected end date of a playing contract or loan agreement is required to be extended in order to cover remaining first-team fixtures - for example in the event of FA Trophy or Play-Off involvement.

For contracts signed during season 2025/26, there is a clause at Section 4 which provides for the contract to automatically extend in the event fixtures go beyond the stated end date. In this case, no further action needs to be taken.

For contracts signed prior to season 2025/26 which do not contain this clause (and provided a similar clause was not added in at the time of signing), the club and player will need to agree the extension, outlined in a written agreement and uploaded to IFAS as a Contract Amendment. The agreement must include the new end date or for example, provision to extend in the event the club makes the FA Trophy Final, Play-Offs etc.

If a player is currently on loan, the loanee club must confirm with the parent club that the loan agreement can be extended – unless the original loan agreement already includes provision for an extension. The loanee club must also ensure that the player’s parent club contract remains valid beyond the proposed loan extension date.

A loan cannot be extended if the player’s parent club contract is due to expire prior to the new end date of the loan. In such cases, the parent club and player must first agree to extend the parent club contract to the required date (as set out above), and only then can the loan be extended.