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Dimitri Payet was unable to play in England, which would have conditioned his presence at the European Championship with France.
English football has lost, and now fears the impact that the UK's exit from the European Union could have on the future of what is considered the richest league on the planet.
Premier League and All the clubs he represented had publicly supported remaining in the European blocHe highlighted the economic and sporting benefit that English football gained thanks to the free movement of players between member states.
A kind of productive circle, by being able to rely on the best footballers with EU nationality, the level of the game rose, the matches became more attractive, the spectacle increased, more investors appeared, and the competition intensified. To obtain the rights to broadcast matches, which doubled the income of the league and the clubs and their ability to attract the best football players.
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Clubs like Arsenal have fans all over the world thanks to the appeal generated by the Premier League.
In the latest cycle of selling television broadcasting rights, which will come into effect starting this summer for a period of three years, The English Premier League has more than… pound8.3 billion (About US$12.5 billion considering Thursday's exchange rate, and US$11.37 billion at Friday's exchange rate once the referendum result is known.)
According to Richard Scudamore, CEO of Premier, the British cultural product that is the world's largest export, leaving the European Union would send a negative message to investors and determine the future of English football as the most attractive on the planet.
First division matches It is broadcast to 730 million homes in 185 countriesgenerating approximately 200,000 broadcast hours per season.
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The English Premier League is the most money-generating football tournament in the world.
This increases – if the growth of the tournament is taken into account – the second division, which has also become a multicultural tournament and is considered one of the most important leagues in the world in terms of the money it transfers and attendance in the stadiums.
Restrictions
The league will have to wait to see what the UK's future relationship with the EU will be like and whether it will allow free labor transit as it exists within the bloc and with some of its trading partners.
But if no agreement is reached, Britain's exit from the European Union could have profound effects to the point of changing the football map in the worldIn which England currently emerges as the largest economic power and one of the major powers in the sporting aspect.
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Players like Argentine Sergio Aguero could think twice before arriving in the UK.
A BBC investigation last year showed this There are more than 400 foreign players in the Premier LeagueWhich represents two-thirds of the football players on the 20 teams' squads.
This percentage increases significantly in major clubs. For example, Arsenal only had six British players out of the 25 players they joined at the start of last season.
Chelsea scored three, the same number as Manchester City. Even Leicester, the surprise champion, had more foreigners than Britons.
The Prime Minister does not discriminate on the basis of nationality and the only restriction it imposes is that players who do not come from EU countries must obtain the appropriate authorization to operate on British soil.
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Most of Leicester City's foreign players were unable to play last season, as was the case with Frenchman N'Golo Kante.
The criteria for achieving this depend on a formula that takes into account the home country’s ranking in the FIFA classification and the percentage of matches played by its team over the years.
Taking into account this rule, More than 100 players were unable to sign for Premier League clubs last seasonincluding two footballers who were part of the league's ideal team: the Frenchmen Dimitri Payet and N'Golo Kante.
In Scotland, none of the community players who played last season will be able to do so, while the total affected across all leagues will rise to 441.
By not being part of the EU, the UK would also not comply with FIFA regulations that only allow underage footballers, but those over the age of 16, to be recruited from among the bloc's member states.
This way, players like Cesc Fabregas or Hector Bellerin will not be able to finish their training at Arsenal.
These variables would make other leagues more attractive to football players, such as the German League, the Spanish League in Spain, or the Italian Football League.
Local talent
Decrease in the number of foreign players It would generate greater demand for English players and force teams to focus on developing home-grown talentThis is something that the Football Association has been trying to promote in recent years.
It is possible that the FA could also implement a quota to force this shift, something it is currently unable to do under European regulation.
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English players can benefit from a decrease in the number of foreign players.
Professor Raymond Boyle, a sports business expert at the University of Glasgow, believes that standards for processing players' work permits are likely to be reconsidered in order to continue to attract the best footballers.
“Countries like Switzerland set their own rules. My feeling is that The commercial sporting elite has always had the ability to influence the rules in their favor.“, the professor told the BBC.
“I don't think it will have a big impact on the big stars, but it will have a big impact on the non-founders.“This may affect the quality of the league and its attractiveness to foreign investors.”
Whatever the scenario, it will not have a retroactive effect and players currently under contract will not be affected.
The fear is more about the future than the present, which is the same situation most UK sports face.
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