Aston Villa Takes Teen Signing Madjo to Court of Arbitration

Aston Villa's quest to register 17-year-old January signing Brian Madjo will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on July 1. The club is appealing FIFA's decision to reject Madjo's registration. FIFA's regulations prohibit international transfers of players under 18, which is why Madjo, signed from Metz for £10 million in January 2026, cannot yet feature. This ruling is despite Madjo being born in England to Cameroonian parents. He grew up in Luxembourg and will turn 18 in six months, at which point registration would be permitted. A similar situation occurred previously when Aston Villa had to wait for academy player Ethan Amundsen-Day to reach 18 before he could play, despite his birth in England. Madjo has been training with the first team and impressing manager Unai Emery, but remains ineligible for matches.

FIFA has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the ongoing situation. Aston Villa has also declined to comment on the matter. The appeal date of July 1 was formally set in recent weeks, with Aston Villa as the appellant and FIFA as the respondent. The club has expressed frustration that the registration process is taking so long, as they were keen to integrate Madjo into their teams sooner. He has not yet made an appearance for any of Aston Villa's sides.