A Starting 11 Without Immigration: How do UK Football Clubs Bring in Players from Overseas?

Football and immigration – a topical crossover given Jim Ratcliffe's recent comments. 

Since Ratcliffe was interviewed by Sky News, many have highlighted what Manchester United's starting 11 might look like without immigration (which was just two players in last week’s draw against West Ham) – and the same would go for most clubs in the Premier League. 

Here, we take a look at how football clubs go about bringing players to the UK from overseas, and what happens in the background of the transfer news.

How players come to the UK: The International Sportsperson Route

It’s fairly easy to see the path to becoming a professional footballer if you are British; youth academy or grassroots team, trial or scholarship offered, and then contract signed (although of course this is easier said than done). For overseas footballers looking to come to the UK, the pathway is largely the same, with the additional hurdle of UK immigration law.

In order to come to the UK, footballers who are not British or settled, must apply for an international sportsperson visa. This is aimed at elite players or coaches, who are ‘internationally’ established, and achieve a certain number of points available in-line with both the Home Office and the Football Association (“FA”) requirements.

Not only does the individual need to be of an elite standard, but the team they’ll be joining also needs to hold a valid UK sponsor licence for the international sportsperson route. Clubs in the Premier League, English Football League, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship are eligible to apply for a sponsor licence under this route provided they meet the Home Office requirements, which are that the organisation must be in the sports sector and must have obtained its own endorsement from the sports governing body – which for football, is the FA. 

Once the club has its sponsor licence in place, the player must then obtain their own individual endorsement from the FA. After this, the club will need to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (“CoS”) to the player, via its sponsor licence. The final stage is for the player to apply for the international sportsperson visa itself. 

The FA Endorsing Body Requirements for Players

Provided the club has its sponsor licence, the player will need to start the process on their side. The first step, as mentioned, is for the FA to endorse the player’s application. 

The FA has specific criteria on which it assesses applications. If a player has had a certain percentage of international appearances for their country, depending on the country’s FIFA World Ranking, the FA would grant endorsement. 

For example, should Son Heung-min wish to rejoin the Premier League, his South Korean national team currently sits at number 22 on the World Rankings, meaning as long as Son has made at least 60% of appearances for his country during the last 24 months, he would automatically pass the criteria and be granted endorsement. The same assessment applies to the women’s game, but with a higher percentage of appearances required – for example Sam Kerr would need to have made at least 70% of appearances for the Australian national team who are currently ranked world number 13 by FIFA.  

If a player has not had sufficient international appearances, the FA moves on to assessing the number of points the player achieves in other areas – which includes a vast array of technical criteria such as domestic league minutes, league position of the player’s last club, and league quality of the player’s current club, to name a few.

If the player is granted endorsement by the FA, they can then proceed to make their visa application, which involves completing an online form, confirming identity, and providing certain documents to the Home Office. 

Example: Manchester United and Matheus Cunha 

Matheus Cunha is a prime example of a player who, while having played in the UK since January 2023, was still subject to visa restrictions before being able to make the next move in his career to play for Manchester United – and it was widely reported that the visa process held up his transfer.

As the international sportsperson visa is tied to a specific employer (i.e. club), although the Brazilian national already held this visa, he was required to apply for a new visa on the basis of being sponsored by a new club.

Fortunately, Matheus is a top player for both club and country, and so he would have met the FA endorsement criteria with little issue.

What Should UK Football Clubs Bear in Mind?

Signing players is often a complex, secretive, and time-pressured process, mostly happening within a chaotic transfer window of clubs competing for the same players. 

If foreign footballers, including EU nationals since Brexit, require an international sportsperson visa, they will need to submit an endorsement application to the FA by no later than midday on the relevant transfer deadline day, in order for the FA to process it on that day. 

Whilst a player can register for a club without endorsement, they must have completed the visa process in full before they can actually start employment at the club – this also includes participating in training and friendly matches. When clubs have sold players or have injuries and have brought in a replacement, it is crucial they have efficient and reliable processes in place to ensure visas can be secured as swiftly as possible, particularly where there are big games coming up. 

As clubs must hold a valid sponsor licence under the route throughout the player’s sponsorship, it is crucial that they pay attention to the particular duties they have as a sponsor and ensure that they remain compliant. This includes reporting to the Home Office any changes to the club, including certain changes in the structure or financial circumstances. If there is non-compliance and the Home Office revoke the sponsor licence, any player or staff member who has an international sportsperson visa may have their visa cancelled, and the club may not be able to sponsor players or staff going forward – which would be catastrophic for most UK clubs. 

To Conclude

Jim Ratcliffe’s comments have faced a lot of backlash and anger in the football world last week, and it is hard to imagine how our leagues would look without the ability to bring in players from overseas. 

When top talent is coming to the UK to showcase their ability on the biggest footballing stage, there is no question that immigration is vital to keep fans happy at the final whistle.

How Irwin Mitchell Can Help

Our immigration team is based across the UK, working closely with a wide range of organisations and individuals. We offer comprehensive assistance with international sportsperson visa applications and compliance assistance for sponsor licence holders.

As a full-service law firm, we have expert teams that can support you as you settle in the UK: our tax and international wealth structuring teams can help you manage your international assets and comply with the UK’s complicated tax system; our conveyancing and property teams can advise on buying and selling a home in the UK; and our employment team can help with any work-related matters.

If you are an individual or organisation looking for help with this process, or need any other type of assistance, please contact a member of the team who will be happy to discuss this with you.