Premier League and FA in battle over new visa rules for players

The FA and the Premier League are engaged in a battle over what happens over player visas after Brexit is completed at the end of the year. Many fans would like to see more English players being developed in the Premier League and EFL, while the Premier League is concerned that the global attraction of its offer is dependent on attracting some of the best world class players. The Premier League is increasingly reliant on overseas television revenues as domestic revenues have plateaued.

After the Brexit transition ends those coming from the EU can be expected to be treated in the same way as players coming from other parts of the world. According to an analysis by the Financial Times more than half the players at Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Norwich and Wolverhampton Wanderers are EU nationals.

Under the current rules homegrown players are counted as those registered with the FA for at least three years before they are 21 years old, regardless of nationality. That has allowed top English clubs to scoop up some of the best European players aged between 16 and 19. That rule is expected to change with only players from the four home countries being treated as home grown.

European players will then be expected to meet the same criteria as non-EU nationals to gain a work permit such as regularly playing for their national team. Of course, some players in the EFL from outside the EU play for their national team. It just so happens that the national team is well down the international pecking order, for example relatively small Caribbean countries. An extreme case is the the volcano ravaged British Overseas Territory of Montserrat has a population of under 6,000. Many of its inhabitants emigrated to England, including footballers.

The Football Association thinks that it has a great opportunity to reduce the number of foreign players at clubs. It wants to reduce the maximum number of non home grown players in each squad of 25 to be reduced from 17 to 12. This has led to a major bust up with the Premier League. In an effort to reach a settlement, the FA has offered to loosen the criteria for all overseas players to gain work permits in England. This could open the door for less established players from South America.

The Premier League is confident that the FA will back down on its more stringent demands. It is increasingly recognised that changes could have unintended and perverse consequences. It is believed that the Big Six would scoop up promising players from other Premier League clubs for bench warming or loan duties which might not aid their development. Top sports lawyer Daniel Geey told the Pink 'Un that elite clubs would respond to restrictive quotas by paying huge transfer prices to acquire the best English talent and hoard it in their squads.

Work permit rules are set by the Home Office in consultation with the FA. The final decision might thus rest with smirking Home Secretary Prite Patel who is keen to restrict immigration despite her own heritage.

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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