Nigerian players are most transferred in Africa' - FIFA

Says football transfers between countries gulped $3billion in 2011 

Nigerian players moved the most within Africa in 2011, a report released by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) said on Thursday.

The report, titled “Global Market Transfer in 2011”, also showed that 13 percent of all transfers globally involved Brazilians, with Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia also featured in the top 10.

French players were the most transferred in Europe.

According to FIFA, over $3 billion was spent in 2011 on international football transfers worldwide, with over 11,500 moves registered on its Transfer Matching System between January 1 and December 31, 2011, with peaks during the transfer windows in January, July and August.

August 31 was, however, the busiest transfer day in 2011 with 317 switches made from one country to another.

The average transfer fee across all international deals was placed at $1.5 million, while the average salary in a selection of 10 countries worldwide was $244,000.

In terms of demand, Brazilian players were the most sought after, followed by Argentine and French respectively.

FIFA’s Transfer Matching System became mandatory on October 1, 2010, and was used last year for the first time by all 208 FIFA member associations, as well as more than 5,000 clubs. It excludes transfers within a country.