FIFA's ban on third-party investors owning stakes in players' transfer rights has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
FIFA says a ruling in the case of Belgian lower-division club Seraing United "unreservedly recognises the compatibility of the ban on TPO (third-party ownership) with European Union law."
The ban on TPO aimed to stop players from moving clubs solely for profit-taking and to protect the game's integrity.
Seraing appealed against a FIFA block in September 2015 from registering new players over a two-year period. Seraing previously joined Malta-based investment fund Doyen to challenge FIFA in a Belgian court.
Doyen reportedly paid €300,000 ($318,000) into Seraing's 2015 budget to buy 30 percent of some players' transfer rights.
FIFA says CAS cut the club's sanction to three transfer windows from four.