Football Contracts for Underage Players

Does anyone have any experience of when underage players sign for a professional club? I know that minors can't enter into a legally binding contract so how do clubs protect themselves, when they 'sign' (say) a 16 year old, from another club just snapping them up when the reach the age of majority?

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Originally Posted by Soccer Mom

Does anyone have any experience of when underage players sign for a professional club? I know that minors can't enter into a legally binding contract so how do clubs protect themselves, when they 'sign' (say) a 16 year old, from another club just snapping them up when the reach the age of majority?

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I'd say they're "signed" before 16 most of the time,I see scouts from English teams at under 12 & 13 games in Dublin area frequently,certainly contact made with parents of players at that stage at least.