Sepp Blatter has confirmed that FIFA will ban third-party ownership of players.
Blatter said a working group would be set up to implement the ban which would come into effect following “a transitional period”.
His announcement came after a report in the Guardian detailed how the super agent Jorge Mendes was involved in a number of third-party ownership across the globe.
Following the publication of that article, UEFA told the Guardian it would ban third-party ownership, if FIFA did not act.
Third-party ownership allows outside investors to profit from player transfers and is very common in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
UEFA maintains the practice sucks huge sums of money out of the sport and threatens the integrity of competitions when players are transferred regularly to generate profits.
“We took a firm decision that TPO should be banned but it cannot be banned immediately, there will be a transitional period,” Blatter told a press conference.
Blatter also confirmed that he will be standing for a fifth term as president, although that official announcement had been expected for some weeks.
“I have announced to the Executive Committee… that I will accept the demands of different associations and federations (to stand for election) to serve FIFA for a fifth mandate,” he added.
The 78-year-old has been FIFA’s leader since 1998, and he is expected to win a further four-year mandate at the 2015 election.
The only confirmed opponent so far is former FIFA deputy secretary Jerome Champagne.
Champagne has said FIFA needs reform after widespread accusations of corruption, but has acknowledged he has little chance of beating Blatter.
The Swiss has also rejected calls for Michael Garcia’s report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to be made public.
Garcia issued a statement on Wednesday calling for FIFA’s ruling board to allow “appropriate publication” of his work.
Blatter said no member of his executive committee asked for the report to be published at its meeting on Friday.
