The BackPage Weekly | Changes to English Football’s Work Permit Rules

By Daniel Geey and Alex Harvey

Recently the UK Home Office approved The FA’s immediate ‘relaxation’ of the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) rules relating to transfers for overseas players. In this BackPage piece, we take a closer look at the new rules and consider what impact they may have on the football recruitment landscape.

⚽ The Post-Brexit GBE Points-Based System

Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the GBE points-based system (which previously applied only in respect of non-EU players) was essentially extended to cover the transfer of EU players. To apply for a visa, foreign players must be granted a GBE and these are awarded depending on the player’s appearances for club and country. See this previous blog for more detail. This represented a sea change from the pre-Brexit free movement era when clubs were able to acquire players from across the EU without needing to worry about such work permit requirements.

At the time, most thought that the more restrictive post-Brexit rules on overseas transfers would benefit young English talent. However, as explained by the FA’s chief executive Mark Bullingham earlier this year, the opposite has been true:

“We’ve had twice as many foreign players come through in the last two transfer windows than in any window previously. So, there’s a big influx, and correspondingly, you’ve seen the amount of England-qualified players under-21 having their playing time dropped substantially to about half since Brexit. There are worrying trends for us – we’re down at about 28 per cent of England-qualified players.”

Additionally, English clubs have voiced their concerns that the GBE system leaves them at a significant disadvantage in the transfer market compared to their counterparts in La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, who are able to pick up the best young international talent unchallenged. Others argue it has also led to inflated transfer fees, as English clubs are forced to compete against each other in the transfer market for a much smaller pool of (slightly older and more expensive) foreign players who meet the GBE eligibility criteria.   

⚽ The New ‘Elite Significant Contribution’ Rules

Against that backdrop, the FA has been working closely with the Premier League and the EFL to find a “progressive solution which will give clubs additional access to international talent and incentivise playing opportunities for English talent”.

Under the new rules, the GBE points-based system will be retained, but English clubs will now be able to register a certain number of ‘Elite Significant Contribution’ players who do not meet the current GBE requirements.

⚽ What does ‘Elite Significant Contribution’ mean?

The new regulations state that a player will be deemed an ‘ESC Player’ if “the Player is an elite player and will make a significant contribution to the sport”. In this respect, the FA expects the player to have satisfied one or more of the following conditions: 

• played in at least one Youth Competitive International Match for a national team ranked in the top 50 places in the FIFA World Rankings; or

• played in at least 5 Youth Competitive International Matches for a national team ranked outside the top 50 places in the FIFA World Rankings; or

• played in at least one Continental Youth Competition Match; or

• played in at least five Domestic Youth Competition Matches; or

• played in at least one Senior Competitive International Match for a national team ranked in the top 50 places in the FIFA World Rankings; or

• played in at least five Senior Competitive International Matches for a national team ranked outside the top 50 places in the FIFA World Rankings; or

• played in at least one match in a Continental Competition; or

• played in at least five Domestic Senior Competition Matches.

It should be noted, however, that ‘Domestic Youth Competition Matches’ only covers certain domestic leagues worldwide, and clubs will therefore need to carefully consider the regulations when evaluating whether a player is capable of being an ‘ESC Player’.

⚽ How many ESC Players can each Club have?

Premier League and Championship clubs will, at least initially, be able to register a maximum of four ESC Players who do not meet the current GBE requirements, whereas for League One and League Two teams the maximum will be two.

The quota of ESC Players a club can register will be proportional to the number of minutes they give to English players, as explained in detail in this excellent Analytics FC piece. While each club will get at least two places for ESC players in the 2023/24 season, they will thereafter receive between zero and four depending on the number of English players playing in future seasons.

The FA has confirmed that this ‘allowance’ will be kept under review, so it may increase if the English player development programme is working successfully.

⚽ ESC Player Loans

Where an ESC Player is loaned to another club, that ESC Player will fill an ESC place of both the parent club and the loaning club for the duration of the loan. This appears to be designed to prevent clubs stockpiling a large number of ESC Players and then sending them out on loan in order to free-up additional ESC places. The rules may also dissuade clubs from loaning out their ESC Players altogether, so clubs could instead explore creative solutions such as selling ESC Players with attractive buy-back options.

⚽ Is an ESC Player an ESC Player forever?

In short, no. If, after 12 months, an ESC Player meets the GBE thresholds, the club can apply for that ESC Player to transition to a non-ESC Player (in order to free-up another ESC place).

⚽ Twenty First Group Analysis

Omar Chaudhuri, the real talent behind the Dan and Omar Podcast(!), provided some fascinating insight in a short blog detailing that:

“English clubs can now look globally for talent, identifying markets that are undervalued and eke out a competitive edge, while many selling leagues can now market players to the world’s biggest football economy. For example, three markets that typify these opportunities:

1) J1 League: the 21st-best domestic player pool in the world, but no player sold to a European club for over £5m in 15 years.

2) Danish Superliga: one-third of the league’s 50 best players are under 23, with these players on average already good enough to start for leading Championship teams. Salaries are around 50% lower than equivalent Championship players.

3) North Africa: twenty Premier League-level players born in this region, but today are much more likely to reach England via other European countries.”

The nationality talent pool is likely to expand in the coming windows.

⚽ Effects on Recruitment

The new, more ‘relaxed’ system is (in our view) likely to have the following effects:

• English clubs will have access to a far broader range of foreign talent. Players from South America, the US, Africa and Asia who do not meet the current GBE thresholds will now be available to English clubs for the first time under the new regime. For example, when Chelsea signed teenager Andrey Santos from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama in January, the player immediately returned to Brazil on loan as he did not qualify for a UK work permit, whereas if the transfer had happened this summer, Chelsea would have been able to register him as an ESC Player under the new rules.

• An influx of young overseas talent this summer. Under the previous rules, very few young foreign players qualified for a UK visa under the GBE system, regardless of their ability. With the new rules coming into effect immediately, we can expect to see an influx of young overseas talent into the Premier League and EFL. Clubs will need to be even more strategic in deciding on the make-up of their ESC squad members.

• Transfer fees will diversify across ‘eligible’ and ‘non-eligible’ overseas players. Previously, English clubs were competing in the transfer market for the few overseas players which had the requisite 15 GBE points, which inevitably drove up the demand (and price) for that limited pool of players. However, under the new rules, competition for those players will likely decrease as clubs turn their attention to lesser-known ESC Players available at more reasonable prices.

• There will be greater playing opportunities for English talent. By creating a system that rewards clubs for giving minutes to English players, The FA is hopeful of creating an improved pathway for talented English youngsters. For example, if a Premier League club has identified a handful of potential ESC Players it wishes to sign, that club will want to ensure it has enough ESC places available to complete those signings. That will only be possible if the club is giving sufficient opportunities to English players.