Brexit took place on January 31, 2020. Since January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU internal market. What has dragged on since the UK referendum in June 2016, such as properly preparing a fish pie, is now actually a reality.
The new normal in relations between the UK and the EU also has an impact on football. New transfer regulations have been in effect since the turn of the year; these also affect Austrians and Austrian clubs if they want to process changes.
But how do the new rules work? What do they mean for potential ÖFB legionnaires and the Bundesliga clubs? What problems does this create? And what are the chances? LAOLA1 has taken a closer look at the new transfer criteria.
The youth players
Photo: © GEPA
FIFA regulates the transfers of underage players worldwide. And the requirements are clear. “A player may only be transferred internationally if he is at least 18 years old,” says the infamous “Article 19”. The world association usually takes a very close look, and if the regulations are disregarded, transfer bans are sometimes imposed.
That is the reason why FC Red Bull Salzburg, for example, only guides talents from Mali and Ghana to Mozart’s city at the age of 18.
However, this FIFA rule does not apply within the EU. The free choice of residence and place of work within the European Union cancels FIFA’s transfer restrictions. EU citizens can be transferred within the EU from the age of 16.
As long as Great Britain was part of the EU, English clubs were able to secure talent from the age of 16. Goalie Daniel Bachmann was around 17 years old when he switched from the Academy of Vienna Austria to the offspring of Stoke City. At the age of 16, Andreas Weimann moved from SK Rapid to Aston Villa’s talent factory. There are several other examples of this kind.
In the meantime, such changes are no longer possible. In the other direction, as it was recently very popular with German Bundesliga clubs, it is of course no longer possible. Borussia Dortmund can no longer secure 17-year-old Jadon Sancho, as was the case in 2017.
The “classic transfers”
It gets more complicated when it comes to the “classic transfers”. So the change of adult professional players. While the transfer of EU citizens to the island has so far not posed any problems due to the already mentioned EU law, it was a little different for footballers from non-EU countries.
The receiving association had to demonstrate that its potential newcomer was of the appropriate quality – in this context, international matches were an important factor. If necessary, an independent committee made a decision.
In the course of Brexit, the clubs and association agreed on an objective system. A points system was created. It’s about playing times in championships and the European Cup, the quality of the respective competitions, international matches and so much more. A player needs 15 points to get a work permit on the island. Originally, the association wanted to set the hurdle even higher with 19 points, the clubs much lower with 9 points. The result is a compromise that will be re-evaluated after a year.
The point system
There are several ways to earn points. And there are also criteria that are referred to as “Auto Pass” – if they are met, nothing stands in the way of a transfer.
When it comes to working times, the past twelve months are usually used as the calculation period.
If a player is used regularly, there are more points – it is calculated in percentages and increments of ten. For example, if a club played 1,000 minutes in the championship in the calculation period and the kicker was only in action for 150 minutes, it played 15 percent of the possible game minutes. If a player is injured or suspended, the club’s game minutes are not counted during this time.
A brief overview of the most important ways to collect points:
Note: For the examples mentioned, the period March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021 was selected.
Internationals:
The average world ranking over the past twelve months determines how many points are awarded for international matches. In the top 10 nations, 30 percent of the minutes are enough for an “Auto Pass”, in the top 20 nations 40 percent, in the top 30 nations 60 percent and in the top 50 nations still 70 percent. As a rule, only competitive games are charged.
Costa Rica, Egypt, Jamaica and Iran are currently among the top 50 in the world rankings.
To put it simply: Anyone who is a regular in the A team in relatively large nations can also move to the island.
–Photo: © getty
Example: David Alaba – In the past 12 months he has completed 67 percent of the possible playing minutes in the competitive games of the ÖFB team. The ÖFB team was on average 25th in the world rankings during the calculation period. This means that David Alaba automatically receives a work permit – completely independent of his performance at the club level.
Club matches:
National operations
In the point system, the national championships are divided into “bands”. A higher “band” means more points. This is the division:
Band 1: England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France
Band 2: Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, England 2
Band 3: Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Scotland
Band 4: Czech Republic, Croatia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Greece, Colombia, USA, Austria, France 2, Spain 2, Germany 2
Band 5: Serbia, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia, Chile, Uruguay, China
Band 6: All other leagues
The Austrian Bundesliga is in “Volume 4”. A maximum of 6 points can be collected purely through working times. Anyone who has completed less than 60 percent of the possible playing time does not receive any point.
–Photo: © GEPA
Example: Peter Michorl – LASK played 31 Bundesliga games in the calculation period, which results in 2,790 minutes. Michorl was suspended in two games, so only 2,610 minutes of LASK are accepted. The player was actually on the field in 2,423 minutes. That equates to 93 percent of the playing time, i.e. the maximum of 6 points.
National success
In addition to playing time, a player can also collect points if his club is successful. These points are distributed in the Austrian Bundesliga:
| success | Points |
|---|---|
| Meister | 3 |
| Qualification for CL group stage | 2 |
| Qualification for CL qualification | 1 |
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While in the big leagues there are already points for a place in the middle of the table, in Austria it is very difficult to collect points in this way. A curiosity: there are points for climbers. A SV Ried player has collected two points as a member of a club from “Band 6” in the past twelve months – one for the championship title and one for promotion. A LASK player, on the other hand, would have come away completely empty-handed.
Quality of the league
There is another possibility: Points for the “quality of the current club”. These points are awarded to those who were in the matchday squad at least once in the past year or who played at least 1 percent of the minutes played in the cup. So practically everyone.
| Band | Points |
|---|---|
| Band 1 | 12 |
| Band 2 | 10 |
| Band 3 | 8 |
| Band 4 | 6 |
| Band 5 | 4 |
| Band 6 | 2 |
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Anyone who does not play internationally with their club in Austria, does not qualify for the CL and also does not play any international matches, can switch to England – and this also includes the leagues under the Premier League.
–Photo: © GEPA
Example: Manprit Sarkaria – With over 90 percent of the minutes he is playing, he collects the maximum possible 6 points in Austria, for the “quality of the current club” he receives another 6 points. With a total of 12 points, he is three points short of a work permit.
International missions
The European Cup, on the other hand, offers further opportunities to collect points. The Champions League is classified as “Band 1”, the Europa League as “Band 2”. Again there are points for the individual working time and the success of the team.
In the Champions League, points are awarded from 30 percent of the operating time, in the Europa League from 50 percent.
There are also points from participating in the group stage (CL 5 points, EL 2 points).
–Photo: © GEPA
Example: Maximilian Wöber – Salzburg’s participation in the group stage of the Champions League gives him 5 points, and he also completed 95 percent of the minutes in the premier class, which gives him 10. Wöber only got his 15 points from the European Cup.
Conclusion of the scoring
Anyone who is a regular player in Austria also needs appearances and successes in the European Cup or international matches in order to receive a work permit on the island. For example, it will be practically impossible for players from the 2nd German league to make the leap to England.
–Photo: © GEPA
Example: Christoph Monschein – 72 percent of the playing time in the Bundesliga equals four points, six points are given for the “quality of the current club”. With his ten minutes of action in the national team, he falls below the point limit with 1.9 percent. Austria did not play the European Cup either. A move to England is not possible.
–Photo: © getty
Example: Christoph Kobald – The central defender is now set for the German second division club Karlsruher SC, collecting 5 points with 81 percent playing minutes, plus six because of the “quality of the club”. Too little for England.
Opportunities for U21 players
Players who are under 21 years of age at the time of the application for a work permit have a number of other opportunities to collect points – from junior national teams to national junior championships, B-teams of the Bundesliga clubs, extra points for debuts at the professionals to the UEFA Youth League.
Anyone who regularly competes in the U21, U19 or U17 European Championship qualification will receive 5 points.
But that can be too little.
–Photo: © GEPA
Example: Yusuf Demir – The Rapid jewel comes of age in June. For his assignments in the U21 national team he receives 5 points, 6 points are given for the “quality of the current club”, 1 for Rapids runner-up title, 2 for participation in the EL group stage. That’s 14 points, one too few, because the youngster doesn’t collect a single point due to his short playing times. But his debut in the Europa League saves him, for which he gets 5 points extra.
The problems, the opportunities
Moving to the island is therefore no longer that easy. A little more than a year ago, Christoph Monschein was still associated with Aston Villa, but he is currently unable to make the change.
It must be emphasized once again that this is not just about a work permit in the Premier League, but also in the Championship, i.e. the second highest English league. ÖFB legionnaires have found jobs there over and over again.
At the same time, clubs from the Bundesliga can also see the new transfer restrictions as an opportunity. If an English club secures the rights to a talent who is not yet allowed to play on the island, it could not only collect match practice in Austria, but also the necessary points.
Players from Denmark, Serbia or Poland will find it difficult to get the necessary points in their home country due to the lower rating of the league. A club from Austria active in the European Cup could help out.
Here are the criteria for awarding points in the official FA document in detail >>>
Text which: © LAOLA1.at
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