Foreign Players: Your Guide to Getting Signed in English Football
Playing in England as an international football player is no small feat. Looking at the number of players gunning for the same slots within the game, it’s obvious that the competition is high. As a foreign player, understanding the rules and regulations is crucial to your chances of getting signed by a team here in England. In today’s post, we’ll be breaking down everything, from endorsement rules to visa regulations.
Understanding the GBE and Points System
What exactly is GBE? GBE is the short form for Governing Body Endorsement. Obtaining this endorsement is a key aspect of playing football in England. This endorsement is granted by the English Football Association (FA) and it’s based on a point system for any player outside the UK who wants to play in England.
So how do you accumulate these points?
To accumulate points, the FA considers a lot of factors. Your international appearances, and the level of competition you’ve played in, are all part of what determines the points you get. These days, factors like how much your current club appears in different competitions also go into consideration as well.
As a foreign player, you will qualify for the GBE if you’ve accumulated up to 15 points in your career. If you’ve also played a certain percentage of minutes for your team, you’ll also be eligible for an auto-pass, as long as your team is ranked in the top fifty by FIFA.
For instance, if you have played over 70% of the minutes for a top 50 team or you’ve played over 30% of the minutes for a top 10 national team, you’re eligible for the GBE.
What if you don’t meet these criteria?
If you’re not playing for a professional team yet or your team doesn’t match the requirements above, you’re probably asking this question. The good news is that there’s a new rule for cases like yours.
In 2023, the FA introduced a new rule that allows Premier League and Championship teams to sign up to four international players who may not meet the standard points threshold for work permits. Even League One and League Two teams can now sign two such players per season.
What this means for you is that even if you do not meet the regular GBE requirement, you can still secure a slot with the cooperation of the club you’re signing with. It means that from your local academy or grassroots team, you can get directly signed by English clubs once you meet all their standards. So yeah, you’ll still be in the race to showcase your skills in one of the world’s most prestigious football leagues.
Just keep in mind that you have to be 18 years already to start this journey. This is because after England exited the EU, Premier League clubs can no longer sign players from overseas under the age of 18.
How Premier Football UK can help you
At Premier Football UK, we understand how tasking it is to get signed as a foreign player in the UK. However, we share the same desire to see our players settled in their dream club and we’re committed to helping every step of the way.
But we don’t just leave our players to figure it out by themselves. Through our specialised trial sessions and training, we prepare our players to improve their football skills to match the English style of football as well as the demands of the league.
We leverage our network of contacts within English football clubs to facilitate these trials and potential signings for foreign players like you. The result is that many of our players are now signed with different clubs all over the UK.
If you’re wondering whether or not playing in England is the path for you, we can also help you decide on our special travel tours. On these tours, you get to visit and interact with prestigious clubs and participate in their training sessions and live games. We believe that seeing the action first-hand will help you assess the environment to make a more informed decision.
CONCLUSION
Getting signed into English football as a foreign player can be complex, but it’s not impossible. It’s all about knowing what is required and how to prepare yourself to meet these requirements. If you’re ready to kickstart your career as an English player, then take the first step by signing up with us. You might be our next success story!