Select Committee on Education and Employment Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 14

Memorandum from Ambition Management Limited (WP23)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background

  1. I am a licensed FIFA players' agent. My work principally covers football and cricket and I have some knowledge of ice hockey and professional basketball in England. As a result of this work I see the issues arising from the granting of work permits at first hand. A summary of my experience is included as Annex 1.

Objectives

  2. Arrangements for the granting of work permits should have a clear measurable objective. The present objective(s) is not set out but is generally understood to be the protection of the home game. The belief that restrictions on non-EEA players will allow domestic talent to flourish is fundamentally flawed. In my opinion the effect of the current arrangements reduces the standard of the home game. (Paragraphs 11-15 below.)

Problems with the present system

  3. The system for granting work permits to overseas footballers is confusing, inconsistent and lacks transparency. This results in a significant number of appeals and irrespective of the true position, encourages the perception that the system is open to manipulation. This adversely affects the administration of professional football, as clubs are unable to anticipate the outcome of an application. (Paragraphs 16-21 below.)

  4. The system applied to professional football is inconsistent with other sports. (Paragraphs 22-24 below).

  5. Criteria adopted within the EU regarding overseas players is inconsistent with the UK leading to further anomalies. (Paragraphs 25-27 below).

Conclusions

  6. Professional football is an international game, which would benefit from unrestricted access to overseas players. Consequently the present rules should be abolished. Work permits should be granted to overseas players who are able to secure a contract of employment with a league club.

  7. Although the effect of a possible depression on salary levels is not in my opinion an issue it could be addressed without affecting free access of players. This could for example, be achieved by requiring the terms of employment of overseas players to be no worse than those offered to EEA nationals playing in the same team.

  8. This could be linked to a minimum requirement to field players eligible for the national side. This system is adopted in France where they have introduced a measure of positive discrimination in favour of players with domestic nationality. The French rules require clubs to have three out of five players on the substitutes bench to be under 21 years of age and be eligible to play for France.

  9. The standard of the home game should be improved by more effective methods than the imposition/or amendment of negative rules with regard to overseas players. The problems facing British professional football cannot be overcome without radical action on a wide range of issues. The scope of such action should, for example, require minimum solvency requirements for clubs and also a radical review of training methods. I accept that these issues are not within the scope of the committee's current review but are included to illustrate that the immigration rules are one small part of a much larger issue.

  10. In the event that restrictions are considered to be necessary, the full cost of international transfers should be borne by the game and not the taxpayer. To facilitate this objective the approval of permits should be delegated by the Home Office to the FA or other non-government agency. The authorised licensing body should then approve work permits on the basis of published unambiguous rules with no judgmental override.

OBJECTIVE

  11. The objective(s) of the current system is unclear. It is, however, often said that the policy is to protect the home game and allow domestic talent to flourish. It is also argued that the restriction of overseas footballers to those who are regular internationals prevents an influx of players who would be prepared to play for low wages thereby enabling clubs to depress salary levels.

  12. The argument that the protectionist policy allows domestic talent to flourish is fundamentally flawed.

  13. Membership of the EU has already widened the talent available to clubs so that some clubs, for example Chelsea FC, regularly field a side with only one or two players eligible to play for England. A continued expansion of the European community is likely to see the recruitment of further players who are not eligible to play for one of the domestic national teams.

  14. A review of the state of English cricket also demonstrates that protectionism does not improve standards. Protectionism is applied to this sport in that The First Class Counties are unable to field only one overseas player.

  15. The objective with regard to salary levels, if this is an objective, should also be disregarded. This only serves to support expensive mediocrity as competition is artificially reduced. All businesses are now subject to global influences. Professional football should be no exception particularly as many clubs face an uncertain financial future.

PROBLEMS WITH THE PRESENT SYSTEM

16. The present criteria is that:

    "sports people applying for work permits should be people who are internationally established at the highest level within their sport and whose employment will make a significant contribution to the development of that sport at the highest level".

  17. The above test is interpreted to exclude applicants from countries with low world rankings. Recent applications for work permits show that Blackpool failed in their attempt to obtain a work permit for Indrek Zelinski, an International for Estonia, a country which is placed 86th in FIFA world rankings; Baichung Bhutia transferred from East Bengal to Bury (a club in Division 2 of the Nationwide League) despite India's FIFA world ranking of joint 113th. (Source of world rankings: FIFA World Rankings July/August 1999.)

  18. The criteria set out in paragraph 15 is amplified by rules regarding selection for national sides. On a strict application of these rules the Brazilian star Juninho recently failed to obtain a work permit to play for Middlesbrough FC. Juninho was however, granted an application on appeal. Although Juninho has undoubted ability it is not clear why his application was overturned on appeal.

  19. Although the responsible authority for these decisions will have had their reasons (and individual cases will be subject to factors not in the public domain) it is clear from the above that clubs are unable to anticipate whether an application is likely to be successful.

  20. It is also clear that a significant contribution can be made by players who are not regularly selected for a high world ranked national side. Bhutia as the first Asian professional footballer is a case in point. In my opinion, the award of his work permit, although well deserved, should not have been left to subjective override. Nor should other players have to overcome significant hurdles because they happen to be a national in a country which either has little tradition of football or has a low world ranking.

  21. The anomalies also apply to exceptionally gifted youth players who cannot obtain a work permit unless they are selected on a regular basis for their national side.

COMPARISONS WITH OTHER SPORTS

  22. My experience indicates that work permits are not granted uniformly across sports.

  23. Many overseas professional cricketers have, in comparison to the standard applied to professional football, limited international experience. Some examples are included as Annex 2.

  24. The inconsistencies become even more marked in the consideration of minority sports. Players coming to the UK to play basketball and ice hockey include a number who have been unsuccessful in obtaining contracts in the North American leagues and have little, if any, international experience at "the highest level".

EU INCONSISTENCIES

  25. There is inconsistency between EU Countries with regard to eligibility of work permits.

  26. For example, a member of the Polish national team, not eligible to play in England, decided to pursue a career in France where he was able to obtain a work permit. As a result of his French residence he has now qualified for dual Polish/French nationality. As a consequence this player does not need a work permit to play in Britain unlike his international teammates.

  27. Similarly many South American players are able, as a result of their lineage (for example a grandfather in Italy) to obtain passports from other EU counties, thus enabling them to play in Britain. I have no objection to the eligibility of these players. It does, however, mean that it is a lottery for individual players.

Ambition Management Limited

October 1999


 
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