United Kingdom: New Visa Rules Allow Football Clubs to Sponsor Additional Foreign National Players

Effective as of the current transfer window which opened on June 14, 2023, the Home Office approved new Governing Body Endorsement Criteria for visas for football players, allowing English football clubs to sign additional players who do not meet the current points requirements. Under the new rules, Premier League and Championship clubs will be able to sponsor a maximum of four additional players, while League One and League Two teams will be able to sponsor a maximum of two additional players. The new rules are being implemented in order to help English football clubs recruit non-UK talent in the post-Brexit environment, since all non-UK players are otherwise required to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement from the Football Association in order to play in England; prior to Brexit, football players of a European Union Member State nationality were not required to obtain a visa. According to a Brexitball report co-authored by Fragomen, Brexit reduced the available player market for English clubs by approximately 90%.