EU status (football)

Last updated December 20, 2024

EU status in association football is whether a football player is considered a citizen of the European Union (EU) for the purposes of labour law within domestic European football leagues. There are different rules for which players are eligible for EU status in different European leagues, and leagues have different rules on how many players from outside the EU may be registered. Players within European league systems who are not considered European citizens are known as "non-EU".

History

In the 1995 Bosman ruling, the conclusion of a case regarding freedom of transfers, restrictions on foreign EU players in EU national leagues were banned.^[1] A previous 1992 ruling had determined that EU states could not distinguish between EU citizens born in an EU nation and those born abroad who had jus sanguinis citizenship.^[2] The 2003 Kolpak ruling ruled in favour of EU status in sports applying also to EU-based citizens of nations which have an Association Agreement with the EU but are not members; the major effect of this was due to the Cotonou Agreement, which spurred European naturalisation of players from the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.^[3]^[4] A major football market to recognise the Cotonou Agreement as EU qualifying is Spain; it was ratified in Spain when La Liga allowed teams to have only three non-EU players registered.^[5]

Though the United Kingdom signed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU following Brexit, British players are not automatically considered EU qualified:^[6] in 2023, British footballer Tosin Adarabioyo reportedly applied for a Nigerian passport so that he could transfer to an EU league,^[7] while in 2022 dual-national England international Lucy Bronze was registered as Portuguese when moving to Barcelona.^[8] Switzerland also has a series of agreements with the EU, but its players are not automatically considered EU qualified.^[9] In EU leagues that do not recognise British and Swiss as EU, young players may be restricted on joining, and players who join will take an international squad spot.^[6]^[8] Spain considers Swiss players as EU players and,^[9] since July 2023, Italy has treated both British and Swiss players as EU players.^[10]^[11]

The concern of EU status predominantly affects young players who may otherwise find it hard to meet visa requirements.^[6]

Nationalities eligible for EU status

National citizenship providing EU status^[12]
Group	Nation	EU status	Notes
European Union	Austria	Yes
	Belgium
	Bulgaria
	Croatia
	Cyprus
	Czech Republic
	Denmark		Including e.g., Faroe Islanders and Greenlanders.
	Estonia
	Finland
	France		Including Overseas France.
	Germany
	Greece
	Hungary
	Ireland		Irish nationality law: Generational inheritance of Irish citizenship requires a person be born to (or adopted by) a parent or grandparent entitled to Irish citizenship, regardless of where they were born, as long as births outside Ireland are registered.
	Italy		Italian nationality law: Generational inheritance of Italian citizenship is, for most practical purposes, automatic and unlimited, regardless of where someone was born or if their ancestors in the generations since one was Italian-born ever claimed this citizenship.
	Latvia
	Lithuania
	Luxembourg
	Malta
	Netherlands
	Poland
	Portugal
	Romania
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	Spain
	Sweden
EAA or EUCU	Andorra	Yes
	Iceland
	Liechtenstein
	Monaco
	Norway
	San Marino
Special agreement	Switzerland	Yes
United Kingdom, its Territories and Dependencies	Northern Ireland	Usually	Irish nationality law: Since 2005, people born anywhere on the island of Ireland, including UK country Northern Ireland, are entitled to Irish citizenship if: at least one of their parents is British, or Irish, or entitled to live in Ireland; or: at least one of their parents was resident on the island of Ireland for three of the four years prior to their birth; or: they are not entitled to any other citizenship. Prior to 1999, people born in Northern Ireland were entitled to Irish citizenship by declaration. In the intervening years, people born in Northern Ireland were entitled to Irish citizenship by birth. Therefore, most people born in Northern Ireland are entitled to Irish nationality, and so eligible for EU status.
	England	Maybe	Since 2023, the Italian Football Federation recognises British citizens as having EU status.
	Gibraltar
	Scotland
	Wales
Cotonou Agreement	Angola	Maybe	As of 2018, players in Europe under the Cotonou Agreement are recognised as EU eligible in Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Romania, and Spain.
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Bahamas
	Barbados
	Belize
	Benin
	Botswana
	Burkina Faso
	Burundi
	Cameroon
	Cape Verde
	Central African Republic
	Chad
	Comoros
	Congo
	Cook Islands
	Cuba
	Djibouti
	Dominica
	Dominican Republic
	DR Congo
	East Timor
	Equatorial Guinea
	Eritrea
	Eswatini
	Ethiopia
	Fiji
	Gabon
	Gambia
	Ghana
	Grenada
	Guinea
	Guinea-Bissau
	Guyana
	Haiti
	Ivory Coast
	Jamaica
	Kenya
	Lesotho
	Liberia
	Madagascar
	Malawi
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Mauritius
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Niger
	Nigeria
	Papua New Guinea
	Rwanda
	Saint Lucia
	Saint Kitts and Nevis
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
	Samoa
	São Tomé and Príncipe
	Senegal
	Seychelles
	Sierra Leone
	Solomon Islands
	Somalia
	South Africa
	Sudan
	Tanzania
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zambia
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe
Euro-Mediterranean agreement	Algeria	Maybe	As of 2018, Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian players are recognised as EU eligible in Finland, Greece, and Spain.
	Morocco
	Tunisia
	Israel	Maybe	As of 2018, Israelis are recognised as EU eligible in Germany and Hungary.
SAA	Albania	Maybe	As of 2018, Albanian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Serbian players are recognised as EU eligible in Greece and Spain.
	Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Serbia
	North Macedonia	Maybe	As of 2018, Macedonians are recognised as EU eligible in Hungary and Spain.
DCFTA	Georgia	Maybe	As of 2018, Georgians, Moldovans and Ukrainians are recognised as EU eligible in Hungary and Spain.
	Moldova
	Ukraine
	Russia	Maybe	As of 2018, Russian and Turkish players are recognised as EU eligible in Greece, Hungary and Spain.
	Turkiye	Maybe
	Kazakhstan	Maybe	As of 2018, Kazakh players are recognised as EU eligible in Hungary.
	Kyrgyzstan	Maybe	As of 2018, the French Football Federation recognises Kyrgyz and Uzbek citizens as EU eligible.
	Uzbekistan	Maybe

National league restrictions

Various European leagues maintain rules related to EU status: as of 2008, Swedish teams may only have three non-EU players on the pitch, and German lower divisions could only have three non-EU players. The same year, clubs in Belarus' first division could register four non-EU players and have three on the pitch, while there were no restrictions in its second division. Conversely, clubs in Bulgaria's second division could not have any non-EU players; in its first division they could register five non-EU players and all could play. Italy's third division did not allow non-EU players, while its second division clubs could sign one and in the first division they could have five. Spain's third division did not allow non-EU players except those already registered in teams that were relegated; first division teams could have three players and second division teams could have two.^[13]

In Finland, Iceland and the Czech Republic, there were no registration limits for professional non-EU players, but a club could only field three. Ukraine had no registration limits; its first division clubs could field seven non-EU players and its second division clubs could field three. In Slovakia and Croatia they could field four; Denmark could field only three, but treated Cotonou players as EU players. French first division clubs could sign four non-EU players, while its second and third divisions were limited to two; Romanian, Swiss, Israeli and Greek first division teams could have five non-EU players, and in their second divisions they could have three. Similarly, in Hungary clubs had no registration limits but first division teams could field five non-EU players, with second division teams able to play three. Russian clubs had no registration limits, with its first division teams able to field seven non-EU players, and the second division could field three. Turkish first division clubs could sign eight foreign players and field six, while its second division could only sign two foreign players under the age of 21. Norway allowed up to eleven non-Norwegian players of any origin, providing the club had at least two homegrown players in its remaining squad. In 2008, the Netherlands, Serbia, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England had no restrictions on non-EU players.^[13] Following Brexit, all non-British players must meet requirements of a points-based system to play in British leagues.^[14]

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References

↑ Norbäck, Pehr-Johan; Olsson, Martin; Persson, Lars (2021). "Talent development and labour market integration in European football". The World Economy. 44 (2): 367–408. doi:10.1111/twec.13071. ISSN 1467-9701. S2CID 230601462.
↑ Moritz, Michael D. (2015). "The Value of Your Ancestors: Gaining 'Back-Door' Access to the European Union Through Birthright Citizenship". Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law . 26: 239–240.
↑ Martín, Alejandro (2022-08-30). "How many non-EU community players can there be in each LaLiga club; how many does each one have?". Diario AS. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
↑ https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/875c1622cdebb31d8ea5930360bf62e4bbe28d7a13ea6b585cfa48208c56ca64/348568/IJHS%200716.pdf
↑ Palmer, Martin (2007-10-07). "Spanish grant EU rights to African players". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 2023-11-06.
1 2 3 "Brexitball: Exporting Young Talent". Analytics FC. 2022-06-06.
↑ "Kolpak ruling: Tottenham target applies for Nigerian passport amid interest from Monaco, Inter:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
1 2 "FC Barcelona: El Barça, en cuadro y Bronze y Geyse, no inscritas todavía". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
1 2 "How to get a Work Permit and Visa for Spain". InterNations. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
↑ Arta (2023-07-27). "Italian FA to Treat Football Players From UK & Switzerland Same as EU Citizens". SchengenVisaInfo.com. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
↑ "Official: FIGC to treat British and Swiss players as EU citizens". Football Italia. 26 July 2023.
↑ "Football Manager 2018 Years to Gain EU Nationality". FM Blog. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
1 2 "I. EUROPE" in Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport
↑ Association, The Football. "Plan agreed on entry requirements for overseas players in England post-Brexit in 2021". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

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[1] Norbäck, Pehr-Johan; Olsson, Martin; Persson, Lars (2021). "Talent development and labour market integration in European football". The World Economy. 44 (2): 367–408. doi:10.1111/twec.13071. ISSN 1467-9701. S2CID 230601462.

[Moritz-2] Moritz, Michael D. (2015). "The Value of Your Ancestors: Gaining 'Back-Door' Access to the European Union Through Birthright Citizenship". Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law . 26: 239–240.

[3] Martín, Alejandro (2022-08-30). "How many non-EU community players can there be in each LaLiga club; how many does each one have?". Diario AS. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

[4] ttps://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/875c1622cdebb31d8ea5930360bf62e4bbe28d7a13ea6b585cfa48208c56ca64/348568/IJHS%200716.pdf

[5] Palmer, Martin (2007-10-07). "Spanish grant EU rights to African players". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 2023-11-06.

[:0-6] 1 2 3 "Brexitball: Exporting Young Talent". Analytics FC. 2022-06-06.

[7] "Kolpak ruling: Tottenham target applies for Nigerian passport amid interest from Monaco, Inter:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

[Barcelona-8] 1 2 "FC Barcelona: El Barça, en cuadro y Bronze y Geyse, no inscritas todavía". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.

[InterNations-9] 1 2 "How to get a Work Permit and Visa for Spain". InterNations. Retrieved 2023-10-08.

[10] Arta (2023-07-27). "Italian FA to Treat Football Players From UK & Switzerland Same as EU Citizens". SchengenVisaInfo.com. Retrieved 2023-10-08.

[11] "Official: FIGC to treat British and Swiss players as EU citizens". Football Italia. 26 July 2023.

[12] "Football Manager 2018 Years to Gain EU Nationality". FM Blog. Retrieved 2024-12-20.

[:1-13] 1 2 "I. EUROPE" in Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport

[14] Association, The Football. "Plan agreed on entry requirements for overseas players in England post-Brexit in 2021". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

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