FA to press ahead with foreign player quota with or without Brexit deal

The Football Association intends to press ahead with their new player quota proposal even if no Brexit deal is struck by the deadline in March.

As part of negotiating the landscape of English football when the country breaks from the European Union, the governing body want to reduce the number of overseas players allowed in each 25-man Premier League squad from 17 to 13.

They believe the increase in mandatory homegrown players will grow the pool of players England manager Gareth Southgate has to pick for the national team. Right now, the number of English players in the top-flight is below 28 per cent of the total.

At the moment there are 262 foreign players in the top flight – which is almost the 260 the new quota is aiming for. Research by the FA discovered that even those clubs who have more than 13 foreign players – for example Tottenham and Manchester City who have the current maximum – would only lose players who are not first-team regulars.

Southgate unconcerned

As it stands, players outside the European Union need a Governing Body Endorsement from the FA, based on criteria ruling out most players not established in their national teams, to transfer to English clubs, yet this will extend to all players outside the UK next March.

If the Premier League clubs agree to the quota, the FA will agree to give GBEs to every foreign player who gets a contract at a top-flight club.

The belief is that should the FA open the overseas player market without capping the number of overseas players per squad, the number of non-home grown players in the league will increase to 340.

Despite the FA’s stance, Southgate does not believe increasing the quota of UK players in squads will make a difference to his options.