When a Ugandan club sells a promising young footballer abroad, the initial transfer fee does not necessarily have to be the end of the relationship.
A sell-on clause can allow the selling club to benefit again if that player develops and earns another transfer later in his career.
Data contained in FIFA’s Global Transfer Report 2025 shows just how important that mechanism has become across international football.
According to the report, 3,841 permanent transfers and loans included a sell-on fee in 2025, representing 52.2% of transfers eligible for such clauses.
That figure has more than doubled from 24.4% in 2016 and has risen steadily from 42.1% in 2022, 45.7% in 2023 and 49.2% in 2024.
The comparison is particularly striking when younger footballers are involved.
FIFA found that 74.5% of eligible transfers involving players under 18 contained a sell-on clause.
The figure fell to 57.7% among players aged 18-23 and 45.8% among those aged 24-29, for players aged 30 and above, only 18.2% had one.
That suggests clubs are particularly interested in retaining an economic interest in footballers whose market value could increase significantly.
For Ugandan clubs developing players for foreign markets, the figures offer an important reference point when negotiating transfers.
FIFA’s report does not establish how frequently Ugandan clubs use sell-on clauses, so its global figures cannot be presented as evidence of local transfer practices.
However, they demonstrate how widespread such agreements have become elsewhere.
The average sell-on percentage was 21.5% in 2025, slightly lower than 22.2% in 2024.
Most agreements fell between 10% and 20%, FIFA recorded 1,480 transfers in that bracket, compared with 1,121 at 10% or below.
Another 846 transfers carried sell-on percentages between 20% and 40%, while 357 were between 40% and 60%, only 37 exceeded 60%.
Perhaps the most interesting comparison concerns players moving without an immediate transfer fee.
According to FIFA, deals without an upfront fee carried the highest average sell-on percentage at 27.5%.
At the opposite end of the market, transfers worth more than USD 20m carried an average sell-on percentage of 13.5%.
That creates an interesting consideration for clubs unable to command substantial initial fees for developing players.
A smaller immediate payment, or even no fee, does not necessarily mean surrendering all potential financial value from the player.
The wider international market is already demonstrating that principle. In 2016, fewer than one in four eligible international transfers included a sell-on agreement. By 2025, it was more than half.
For Ugandan clubs hoping to make player development a sustainable source of revenue, negotiating the first transfer may only be part of the deal.
What happens when that player moves again could matter just as much.