A key component of the international sportsperson visa is the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE). A GBE is awarded by a sports governing body to a non-UK sportsperson as an acknowledgement that they are well established in their field and as such, will make a significant contribution to the sport in UK. Each sport governing body publishes a set of criteria that is used to assess a sportsperson’s eligibility. Once the criteria are met, the governing body will issue a GBE to the sportsperson’s employer, who will then issue the sportsperson a Certificate of Sponsorship which will be used for a visa application (Mace & Smith, 2022). With regards to professional football, clubs may apply for a GBE for a foreign player at any point during the season on behalf of a player and they must have a valid Sponsor’s licence from the Home Office. According to the GBE regulations, there are six categories by which a player’s eligibility is assessed, requiring them to achieve a score total of 15 points or more.
The first category is international appearances. It should also be noted that in this category, a player can be granted an automatic GBE (an ‘Auto pass’) without achieving points in any other categories. However, the auto pass is unavailable to players from countries outside FIFA top 50 rankings. A player is assessed on the percentage of appearances they make for their national team in the preceding 2 years of the GBE application. The national team FIFA ranking is also considered in this category. Players from countries with higher FIFA rankings are required to have made a lower percentage of international appearance while players from lower ranking countries are required to have a higher percentage of international appearances.
| Player’s International Appearances | 1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-50 | 51+ |
| 90-100% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 2 points |
| 80-89% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 1 point |
| 70-79% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 0 points |
| 60-69% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 10 points | 0 points |
| 50-59% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 10 points | 8 points | 0 points |
| 40-49% | Auto Pass | Auto Pass | 9 points | 7 points | 0 points |
| 30-39% | Auto Pass | 10 points | 8 points | 6 points | 0 points |
| 20-29% | 10 points | 9 points | 7 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 10-19% | 9 points | 8 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 1-9% | 8 points | 7 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
The second category is the domestic minutes the player has achieved in the preceding two years of the GBE application. The GBE regulations utilise a ranking system for the domestic leagues, putting them in ‘Bands 1- 6’ (FA, 2024).
According to this category, the more minutes a player plays in a club from a higher banded league, the more points he is awarded towards the GBE. Furthermore, if a player is eligible for points in more than one column, the player is only awarded the higher of the points (FA, 2024). One such situation is if a player is eligible to attain points one set of points under this section the player played in two different domestic competitions during the reference period in which the GBE is assessed. This is also the case for a youth player eligible to attain points in multiple columns if he made a debut appearance in more than one band or if the youth player made his appearance for the senior team and has also played the requite percentage of minutes to attain points (FA, 2024).
| Bands | Leagues Included |
| Band 1 | English Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. |
| Band 2 | Portuguese Primeira Liga, Eredivisie, Belgian First Division A, Turkish Super Lig, and the English Championship |
| Band 3 | USA’s Major League Soccer, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Primera División of Argentina, Liga MX, and the Scottish Premiership. |
| Band 4 | Czech First League, Croatian First Football League, Swiss Super League, La Liga 2, Bundesliga 2, Ukrainian Premier League, Greek Superleague, Colombian Categoría Primera A, Austrian Football Bundesliga, Russian Premier League, Danish Superliga, and Ligue 2. |
| Band 5 | Serbian SuperLiga, Polish Ekstraklasa, Slovenian PrvaLiga, Chilean Primera División, Uruguayan Primera División, the Swedish Allsvenken division, the Norwegian Elitserien division, the Italian Serie B, the Hungarian Namzeti Bajnoksag I, the Japanese J1 League the South Korean K League 1 and the Australian A-League. |
| Band 6 | All leagues not mentioned in Bands 1-5 |
| Player’s Domestic Minutes | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 | Band 5 | Band 6 |
| 90-100% | 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 6 points | 4 points | 2 points |
| 80-89% | 11 points | 9 points | 7 points | 5 points | 3 points | 1 point |
| 70-79% | 10 points | 8 points | 6 points | 4 points | 2 points | 0 points |
| 60-69% | 9 points | 7 points | 5 points | 3 points | 1 point | 0 points |
| 50-59% | 8 points | 6 points | 4 points | 2 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 40-49% | 7 points | 5 points | 3 points | 1 point | 0 points | 0 points |
| 30-39% | 6 points | 4 points | 2 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 20-29% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 10-19% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 1-9% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Debut for Youth Player* | 6 points | 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
The third category considered is the ‘Player’s Continental Minutes’. In a similar way as the domestic league, the continental competitions are classified into 3 bands (FA, 2024).
• Band 1 Continental Competition includes the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores.
• Band 2 Continental Competition includes the UEFA Europa League and the Copa Sudamericana.
• Band 3 Continental Competition includes other continental competition that have not been included in Band 1 Continental Competition or Band 2 Continental Competition.
The inclusion of the South American competitions in Bands 1 and 2, alongside the UEFA competitions, highlights the value and significant contribution which South American players and players within that league have on football in the UK.
| Player’s Continental Minutes | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 |
| 90-100% | 10 points | 5 points | 2 points |
| 80-89% | 9 points | 4 points | 1 point |
| 70-79% | 8 points | 3 points | 0 points |
| 60-69% | 7 points | 2 points | 0 points |
| 50-59% | 6 points | 1 point | 0 points |
| 40-49% | 5 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 30-39% | 4 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 20-29% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 10-19% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| 1-9% | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
The fourth category considered is the domestic league position of the club which the player is transferring from. In order for the player to be awarded points in this category, there is a requirement for the player to have been included in at least one matchday squad in the domestic league of his former club, as well as to have played at least 1% of the minutes available in the domestic cup competition (i.e. the domestic cup such as the FA cup which incorporates a route to qualifying for a continental competition) (FA, 2024). According to the table below, a player will achieve more points if the team they are transferring from play in a higher domestic league (i.e. in accordance with the bands of domestic leagues).
| Last Club’s Final Domestic League Position | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 | Band 5 | Band 6 |
| Title Winner | 6 points | 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Qualified for Group Stages of Band 1 Continental Competition or a league conference winner | 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points |
| Qualified for Qualifiers of Band 1 Continental Competition | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points | 0 points |
| Qualified for Group Stages of Band 2 Continental Competition | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Qualified for Qualifiers of Band 2 Continental Competition | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Mid-table | 1 point | 0 points | 0 points | 0 point | 0 points | 0 points |
| Relegated to lower division | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Promoted to higher division | N/A | 1 point | 1 point | 1 point | 1 point | 1 point |
The fifth category is the Continental Progression of the player’s last club. Points will be awarded to the player based on the progress of his last club in a continental competition. However, these points will only be awarded if the player was included for at least one match day squad in the domestic or continental competition and played at least 1% of the minutes available in the domestic cup competition. The continental competition bands are the same as described above in the third category, and the further the team progress in a higher banded competition, the more points are awarded to the player. It should be noted that the player is only awarded the higher of the points he is eligible for (e.g. a player will only awarded 10 points if his team reaches the final of a band 1 competition, and not a combination of points for getting through the preliminary stages) (FA, 2024).
| Continental Progression | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 |
| Final | 10 points | 7 points | 2 points |
| Semi-final | 9 points | 6 points | 1 point |
| Quarter-final | 8 points | 5 points | 0 points |
| Round of 16 | 7 points | 4 points | 0 points |
| Round of 32 | 6 points | 3 points | 0 points |
| Group Stage | 5 points | 2 points | 0 points |
| Other | 0 points | 0 points | 0 points |
The last category is the Quality of the club the player is transferring from. Points will be awarded to a player if the club he is transferring from plays in one of the league bands (1-6). He will be eligible to receive points under this category provided he was in a match day squad for at least one match in either the domestic league or the continental competition and played at least 1% of the minutes in the domestic cup competition. The table below shows the number of points awarded in accordance with the domestic league bands(FA, 2024).
| Band of Player’s Current Club | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 | Band 5 | Band 6 |
| Points | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
The Exceptions Panel
A player is able to appeal to the Exceptions Panel if there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ surrounding the inability to achieve the requisite 15 points who has attained 10-14 points in the objective criteria. In such a situation, the FA will appoint a three member independent panel (one legally qualified chair and two other appropriate panel members). The panel will only recommend a GBE is granted if it concludes that there were certain exceptional circumstances that if non-existent, the player would have achieved 15 points. The criteria is slightly different for a youth player. For a youth player, the panel will award a GBE if they decide the evidence presented shows that the player’s qualities will enhance the development of the game in the country. The Exceptions panel will then recommend a decision to the FA. The recommendation will be considered by the FA but it is the FA who will have the final decision and is under no obligation to grant a GBE.
The ESC
The ESC was introduced in 2023/24 season. Albeit having no clear definition, the ESC acronym stands for Elite Significant Contribution, emphasizing the nature of the footballer which the FA and the Home office want under this category. Under the ESC, players do not need to meet the required points eligibilty criteria for a GBE but can still obtain a work permit in this UK. The minimum requirements to be eligible for a work permit under the ESC is that a player:
- Played in at least one competitive youth or senior international for a nation ranked in the FIFA Top 50 (aggregated over 12 months for a Youth Player)
- Played in at least five competitive youth or senior international for a nation ranked outside of the FIFA Top 50 (aggregated over 12 months for a Youth Player)
- Played in at least one Continental Youth or Senior Competition match
- Played in at least five Domestic Youth or Senior Competition matches
- The ‘domestic competition’ refer only to competitions in Bands 1 -5
The number of ESC places that a club is entitled to is highlighted below. Clubs are entitled to slots based on the amount of playing minutes in competitive matches given to players that qualify to play for the English National Team. The FA have referred to these players as ‘England Qualified Players’ (EQP)
| Number of Available ESC Places | ||||
| Weighted EQP Minutes % | Premier League | EFL Championship | EFL League One | EFL League Two |
| ≥35% | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| ≥30% | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| ≥25% | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| ≥20% | 1 | 1 | – | – |
A club is also eligible for an additional slot if they have three players that represent England in senior and youth international competitive matches. This means that outside of meeting the EQP minutes stated in the table above, a club is also entitled to a slot based on their English players’ international appearances. However, there are only a maximum of four ESC slots available to any club.
The next article with provide an assessment of the GBE and its impact to date, to further highlight the regulations in practice.
REREGULATE: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF REGULATIONS IN FOOTBALL 
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