The world’s richest league will pay the price for Britain’s exit

Slovak football international Ondrej Duda has attracted interest from English football clubs. If the clubs reach an agreement on a transfer, nothing currently prevents him from playing in the world’s richest football league, the Premier League. But in two years’ time, he would no longer be able to make the move to the British Isles.

Thursday’s referendum result on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union will, among other things, mean that every footballer must obtain a work permit in order to play in England. According to the latest rules for granting permits, introduced in December of last year, a player from Slovakia would need to have played in at least 60 percent of national team matches over the past two seasons. Ondrej Duda does not meet this requirement, as he has appeared in only about a fifth of the national team’s games. “Free movement regulations apply to everyone, including footballers. Brexit could have devastating consequences for football transfers to England,” said sports analyst and football agent Jozef Tokos in an interview with the Economic Daily.

Germans and Spaniards at an advantage
The requirement to issue work permits for footballers will give a competitive advantage to other leagues within the European Union, such as the German, Spanish, or Italian leagues. “Unlike the Premier League, they will still be able to sign talented players who haven’t yet made a breakthrough in the national team. The criteria for work permits are fairly strict,” Tokos noted. (...)