Chelsea will challenge a transfer ban from FIFA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the London club said Wednesday after football's world governing body rejected a first appeal. The ban on Chelsea signing players over the next two transfer windows remained largely in place after FIFA issued their ruling earlier on Wednesday.

In February, the Blues were banned from signing players for their men's teams for the next two transfer windows after being found guilty by FIFA's disciplinary committee of breaching regulations relating to the recruitment of minors. Chelsea denied any wrongdoing and appealed. On Wednesday, the governing body of world soccer announced that its appeal committee had "decided to partially uphold the appeal". The committee lifted part of the ban, but only for players under 16 who are not "international transfers and first registrations of foreign minor players".