FC Dallas: Franca Jara conundrum illustrates transfer uncertainty

FC Dallas are still expecting to sign Franco Jara in the summer transfer window. But the conundrum of the decision helps illustrate just how uncertain football governance is at present.

Unlike most North American sports which are entirely enclosed, such that trades, transfers, and signings all happen within the same entity, football is a global sport, and there is much more connection between the clubs as a result. From competitions that span across different countries and to transfers that can see players move different corners of the globe, football is a sport that is played and managed across the world.

During the current COVID-19 crisis, this makes it extremely more difficult to manage than, say, the NFL where everything is entirely enclosed. The decision that is made by the governing bodies applies for the whole sport. In Major League Soccer, however, what decision Don Garber makes does not pertain to football in Mexico or South America or Europe or even in other North American leagues.

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This makes the governance of the sport that much more difficult, especially when it comes to the transfer market. As European clubs are encountering regarding those players whose contract expire at the end of the current season, which for most is June 30th, as well as players who have already agreed transfers in the summer window and those on loan who will return to their parent club, there is a legal and logistical minefield to navigate through, of which there is no clear and safe path.

Some MLS teams now face the same conundrum. Take FC Dallas and their impending signing of Pachuca centre-forward, Franco Jara. FC Dallas announced the signing in mid-January on a pre-contract agreement in the summer. He will arrive in Texas as a Designated Player. But the uncertainty regarding the signing now rests on when, not if.

“Our plan is the normal plan, is to have him here the same time we planned to have him before, which was in this July moment of the transfer window,” FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez told mlssoccer.com. “I know that transfer window could change, based on decisions of MLS or FIFA or Liga MX. But I can not control that, we can not control that.

“Our plan has to stay the same. So our expectation is that he’s here joining the group by July, and I know that’s the same feeling for him as well. But also with the right focus like we said, focused on him doing the best for Pachuca in this moment.”

At present, Jara’s contract with Pachuca expires on June 30th. He will then move to Dallas in July as the secondary MLS transfer window opens. But with the Liga MX season currently on hold, this could all change depending on the ruling that FIFA, MLS and Liga MX agree upon.

It might be that the contract agreement must be adhered to and Pachuca are unlucky. It might be that the terms are adapted such that Jara remains in Mexico until the end of the Liga MX season. At this point, no one knows how this conundrum will be solved, but it serves to illustrate the uncertainty surrounding the transfer window at present.

MLS teams, including FC Dallas, will have to work within these contorted times. That will make transfers more difficult, but as Gonzalez says, for now, clubs cannot control what happens. Until they can, we all live in this state of limbo.