Brexit may shatter the dreams of Slovak talents

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union will end the departures of young Slovak players to English clubs. The reason: an exemption in FIFA’s rules will no longer apply.

They had the chance to improve their English, attend school, and take advantage of top training facilities in the cradle of football. Youth academies in England have nurtured players from as young as 16, including names like Miroslav Stoch, Vladimír Weiss, and Róbert Mak—the hero of Slovakia’s recent win over Scotland. Many other lesser-known Slovak talents also tried to seize the opportunity to succeed on the islands. But in two years, that path will likely be closed. With the UK leaving the EU, the exemption that allowed young players to transfer to Britain will no longer be valid. While players can currently move to England as early as age 16, after Brexit they’ll have to wait until they’re 18. “This is a big complication. The chance for young talents to get into England will drop significantly,” said Jozef Tokos, sports analyst and football agent, for the Economic Daily.

An opportunity for our domestic league
To explain: in football, the age between 16 and 18 is often the most important period for a player’s future career. Talents move to England at 16 for a few thousand euros, but two years later, when they sign their first professional contracts, their market value can already be in the hundreds of thousands. “If this scenario becomes reality, it’s a real shame for Slovak boys—most of them dream of getting a chance in England. But every bad thing has a silver lining,” said former goalkeeper Filip Mentel, who spent three years in Manchester City’s academy alongside Weiss. That “silver lining” could be the fact that young Slovak players will stay home, raising the quality and level of domestic youth and senior competitions. “But let’s not forget they will still be able to move at a young age to other strong football nations like Italy or Germany,” Tokos notes.

The reality is, though, that only a few players who went through elite academies abroad made it into the senior national team—namely Stoch, Weiss, and Mak. “But youth development is also done well at home, as shown by recent big transfers from our league—Matúš Bero went to Trabzonspor in Turkey, and László Bénes to Mönchengladbach in Germany,” Mentel adds.

The end of the exemption
The issue stems from Article 19 of FIFA’s rules on international transfers, which states that international moves are allowed only for players over 18. There are three exceptions that allow younger players to move abroad:

1. If their parents move to the new country for reasons unrelated to football.

2. If it’s a cross-border transfer within 50 kilometers of the player’s home.

3. If the transfer is within the European Economic Area, based on a special agreement between FIFA and the EU, allowing 16-year-olds to move.

“That third exemption is at risk of disappearing after Brexit,” explains Tokos. This could hurt not only young Slovaks, but also English clubs in the long run. Compared to clubs in Spain, Germany, or Italy, English teams will face a competitive disadvantage. “There are many examples where top foreign players developed thanks to these academies in England. The most notable names are Paul Pogba and Cesc Fabregas,” says Tokos. Pogba, the most expensive player in history, left French club Le Havre at age 16. Three years later, he moved to Juventus for €3.5 million—and returned to Manchester in the summer for a record €105 million.