Slowly but surely, football’s transfer market is picking up pace as clubs go through their pre-season training programmes.
The volume of deals is likely to gain more impetus in the coming weeks, as competitive games loom closer – as does the closing of the transfer window, which is 11.30pm on Friday, August 30 in Scotland and 11pm on the same date in England.
The annual summer signing spree brings into play an interesting feature of the visa arrangements, and it’s one which can give Scottish clubs an edge when it comes to recruiting from overseas.
Following Brexit, professional footballers from overseas need to obtain a governing body endorsement (GBE) from the English FA or Scottish Football Association (SFA) before they can obtain an International Sportsperson visa to play in the UK.
To obtain a GBE, players must score a certain number of ‘points’, based on various criteria. These include, but are not limited to, international appearances for their country, continental minutes played and the league position of their current club.
While the requirements to automatically obtain a GBE from both the English FA and SFA are similar, Scottish clubs have an advantage in respect of the ‘exceptions panel’ which presents them with an opportunity to sign players who are not able to obtain automatic endorsement.
Unlike the English FA, the SFA does not impose a threshold for a transfer to progress to consideration by the exceptions panel. This means players who score a low number of points – and who would usually be unable to sign an English club – could still be endorsed for a visa via the exceptions panel, and subsequently sign for a Scottish club.
The SFA exceptions panel has previously given Scottish clubs a potential advantage during transfer windows, expanding the pool of players who could be signed by clubs in the Scottish leagues beyond those available to clubs in the English divisions. The lower threshold potentially positions Scottish teams to sign emerging talent who may not yet have had the opportunity to score enough points for automatic endorsement.
Rangers recently signed Jefté, a 20-year-old player from Brazil. In the 2023/24 season, he won the Cypriot first league with APOEL Nicosia. The Cypriot league is categorised by the English and Scottish FAs as a Band 6 league, and this – combined with his lack of international appearances – means he would score very few points under the GBE rules and normally be unable to obtain a visa.
While we don’t know the visa detail of this transfer, the SFA rules are more relaxed than the English FA rules in terms of the number of points that are needed for consideration by its exceptions panel. This flexibility enables Scottish teams to access players from leagues – such as the Cypriot league - that English clubs can’t normally explore for new recruits.
As a partial response to this imbalance, the Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) system was introduced by the English FA in June 2023. This allows Premier League and Championship clubs to sign a maximum of four non-UK players (the figure is two for clubs in Leagues One and Two) each season who would not otherwise qualify for a GBE. These changes could potentially reduce the advantage enjoyed by Scottish teams. The ESC system is, however, more limited in its scope than the Scottish FA’s approach to the exceptions panel.
Scottish clubs will no doubt be looking to step up their business activity in the latter stages of the transfer window, as they look to augment their squads with quality signings. The final hours are always a fascinating watch, as agents look to secure last-minute deals for their clients and clubs strive to get transfers over the line in time.
Overall, it will be interesting to see whether Scottish clubs’ access to talent in lower ranked overseas leagues is affected by English clubs’ use of the new ESC rules during this transfer window – and whether they change their recruitment tactics in response.
Alex Hood is a solicitor and co-lead of Fragomen’s sports immigration practice. Marcus Lang-Rawlings is an Immigration Paralegal at Fragomen. Fragomen is a leading firm dedicated to immigration services worldwide. The firm has nearly 6,000 immigration professionals and support staff in more than 60 offices.