Brexit, Mexit and Spaxit. Exits seem to be in vogue, but all three may have a relative significance. Lionel Messi’s decision was an emotional one, open to renunciation in a more reflective moment; Spain, after their 2-0 loss to Italy, are still a good team, not a great one, but they must and can rebuild. And then Brexit? How big of an impact will it have on English football?
Make no mistake, Brexit is a momentous Britannic U-turn in post-modern history with all spheres of life affected, but, for English football, the ramifications will be limited, though some twists and opportunities can’t be discounted.
Membership of the EU, or its smaller and less stringent cousin, the European Economic Area, revolves around four pillars, including the free movement of labour. As a consequence, foreigners, including football players, cannot be discriminated against. A player from outside the EU or EEA needs to obtain a work permit and fulfill a number of criteria. So, once Britain officially exits, a process that ostensibly may take a lot of time, any non-British player, and not just a non-EU player as it currently stands, would have to go through the entire process of securing a work permit.
Work permits
These are the rules under which a non-EU football player can secure a permit: a player from a nation placed in the top 10 in the Fifa rankings must have only played in 30% of their country's games in the two years prior to the date of application. That number steadily increases further down the tier ladder, a way of preserving quality in the Premier League. In their last game of the season, Premier League champions Leicester fielded six players from outside the UK, including N’Golo Kante, who could potentially lose the right to play in the country. At Euro 2016, Leicester’s midfield metronome is unwavering again in his work rate for France.
However, the work permit regulations are not a cunning invention devilishly concocted by Sir Humphrey Applebly in a dark bunker. The British Home Office, in conjunction with the English Football Association, conceives and writes them. If English football were to be severely impacted, the regulations could be altered, depending on the attitude the FA takes in its negotiations with the Home Office. They can be tweaked in a manner that quality players still have a relatively easy pathway to the Premier League.
A post-Brexit Britain may also offer a chance for more home-grown players such as the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Tyler Blackett. English football could even revert to the pre-Bosman era – the ruling rendered by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in December 1995 further cementing the free movement of players, considered as workers, in football – with the introduction of a quota system.
Six plus five
Sepp Blatter, the embodiment of impervious football officialdom, once proposed a “six plus five” quota to stimulate the development and progress of home-grown players: at least six players in a first team had to be from the home country of the club, according to Blatter. If such a system is devised in England post Brexit, it would give English players more playing time and, in turn, possibly but not necessarily, strengthen the England national team.
Strong objections to this would arrive from the Premier League, who consider their sport to be a multi-billion dollar product, preferring to rely on international players developing into global stars on English soil. Alternatively, Britain could agree bilateral deals with countries to ease the passage of players.
But while these two options – quotas and bilateral agreements – seem unlikely, a watering down of the rules concerning work permits does not. Ultimately, how the UK Brexits, a nebulous proposition now, will define the consequences for the game. So, both England and English football are in a state of flux, but at least one Brexit has already come to pass – on Monday, in Nice, Iceland and an 18th minute goal from striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson sank England in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016.
