The loan rules for 2025/26 in Scotland look like they’re going to confuse plenty of folk at first glance, because it’s no longer just a straight “you can only have X loans” conversation. The headline is simple enough: standard loans still exist with a general cap, but there’s now a Cooperation System that gives clubs extra room to get minutes into young, Scottish-eligible players.

The basic loan cap still matters

In normal circumstances, the broad framework people quote is FIFA’s general rule of six players on loan in and six out. That’s the bit supporters tend to latch onto, because it’s easy to understand and it’s been the reference point for years.

Where it gets interesting is that younger players, particularly those in the U21 bracket, often sit outside the strictest interpretation of those limits. So you can end up looking at a squad list and thinking “how have they got more than six?” when, technically, the club isn’t breaking the rules at all.

So what is the Cooperation System?

For 2025/26, there’s a new Cooperation System aimed at 16 to 21-year-old players who are eligible for Scotland. The idea is player development, and it’s pretty clearly designed to help youngsters get proper men’s football without being parked on a bench all season.

Instead of a rigid one-way loan where a player disappears to a lower-league club and you just hope it works out, the system is built around a parent club and a partner club. The key point you’ve highlighted is “fluid movement” between the two, which is exactly what makes it feel different. It’s development-focused, not just a temporary offloading of squad numbers.

The club-to-club limits you actually need to watch

Even with extra flexibility, it’s not a free-for-all. Under the cooperation set-up, there are still limits on how many players can be shared between the same two clubs. The way you’ve laid it out is that there’s a maximum of five shared players overall, with a split of up to three on loan and three on cooperation agreements (or the other way around).

That’s the bit Rangers fans should keep in mind if we’re ever looking at a particular lower-league side and thinking it’s basically a feeder team. The rules are written to stop that going too far, while still letting young lads get games.

In simple terms, clubs can still use standard loans up to the usual cap, and they can also use the new Cooperation System to give extra pathways for young Scottish-eligible talent. It’s one of those changes that’ll make a lot more sense once we see it used in practice.

Written by Fork: 10 January 2026

Tags: transfers tactics