Great Britain is set to leave the European Union, plunging the country into uncertain political, financial and social terrains, with football too facing an unclear future.
“I believe the world will only survive if we try to work all together – that’s what I believe,” Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger, said before the vote.
Thursday’s referendum saw the Leave campaign secure a narrow victory of 51.9%, on a historic yet controversial day for the country.
While the ramifications for Britain – and indeed the wider continent – are left mostly to guesswork, calculating the consequences on football also presents a host of difficulties.
West Ham Vice Chairman, Karren Brady, had suggested in January that “cutting ourselves off from Europe would have devastating consequences”.
But what are these consequences? We take a look at a few.
- Premier League
Brexit presents the possibility that the Premier League may struggle to attract the sort of television rights revenue of yesteryear.
Next season, £5bn is set to flood through the English game but leaving the EU presents problems going forward.
Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chairman, came out in defence of the Remain camp earlier this week, arguing that it would be “incongruous” for him to back the UK leaving.
Speaking on Radio 5 live he said: “There is an openness about the Premier League which I think it would be completely incongruous if we were to take the opposite position.
“Nobody bears the scars more than me of having to go and negotiate in Brussels and try and organise things a little bit in our interests in terms of the European machine.
“Ultimately you can’t break away, you can’t just pull out, you have to get in and negotiate and try and organise and try and influence.”
- Transfers
Although Britain’s exit from the European Union is unlikely to affect any EU players currently in the country, it could hamper future transfers. EU players will now have to fit the criteria of those outside of the Union.
Prior to this, there was freedom of movement for Europeans while non-EU citizens, on the other hand, usually have to meet Home Office registration criteria.
Players coming in have to play a specific number of matches for their national sides in order to qualify for a move to the Premier League. But all these could change.
According to a Guardian survey published in September last year, around two thirds of the 161 Premier League players hailing from the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) would not have met the criteria currently used for non-Europeans to be granted work visas automatically.
“I don’t think the same standards would be applied to players from the EU as they currently are to non-EU players,” said Daniel Geey, a partner at sports and media law firm, Sheridans.
“Arranging bilateral regulations for footballers won’t be the first thing on governments’ minds so the FA and Home Office will need to have new work-permit rules.”
- European competitions
The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) is the administrative body that heads the region and organises competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and the European Championship.
But just like other confederations, UEFA isn’t primarily for Europeans alone as it consists of some Asian nations. Meaning that membership of the EU has nothing to do with the body.
So what this implies is that England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland can all take part in European competitions, both at club and international level even after leaving EU.
