Impact of Brexit on Football

Football, considered Britain’s National Sport, will face significant consequences, especially when it comes to free movement of European players and their participation in English Football. Players from EU member states do not need work permits to play and reside in Britain. In case of a player with a non-EU passport, to qualify for a work permit, he should have played in 75% of his national side competitive games over two years.

This could significantly affect the way clubs access the European player market once Brexit kicks in for real, especially accessing cheaper players from countries like France, Spain and Portugal, as some clubs have done over the past few years. In May last year, the British Government tightened their work permit rules, essentially to restrict the number of international footballers playing their trade in Britain.

According to new rules, A player from a top 10 national only has to have played in 30% of their games in the two years prior to the date of application to be granted a work permit. A player from a nation ranked 11-20 must have played in 45% of international games. This percentage rises to 60% for the next 10 countries, then 75% for nations ranked 31-50. A vote to leave the EU would mean that players from the 27 countries still in the union would need to meet these criteria. The last season saw 432 players from the 28 EU member states registered to play in the Premier League.

This could also mean that the highly competitive or the so called the best league in the world would no longer be in a position to attract, if not, access some of the best European footballing talent. Brexit, other significant impact on British Football would see clubs being forced to look inwards, and develop home grown players which will eventually benefit English Football in the long run. From a business point of view, should these new rules kick in, clubs would demand an even heavier price for home grown talent, in addition to what is informally known as the England premium in football circles.

From club point of view, they’d be reluctant to sell some of their best home grown players, both domestically and abroad. However, in the event of that not happening, where Britain remains a part of the larger EEA Bloc, these rules could be relaxed or may not get implemented. Such is Football and particularly Britain’s clout.