Brexit has pros, cons for Korean footballers

• Published Jun 28, 2016 4:42 PM KST
• Updated Jun 28, 2016 4:42 PM KST

By John Duerden

The United Kingdom’s “Brexit” vote -- the decision to leave the European Union -- has sent shockwaves around the world. In economic and political terms, it is going to have serious implications. In football, the English Premier League will also be affected. It could be good news for Korean stars looking to head to the world’s most popular and richest league. Or it may not be.

Korean players who move directly from Asia to England need a U.K. work permit. These rules were tightened last year in a bid to ensure that only the best talent came into the country. The players had to play a certain number of games for a national team ranked in the top 50 in the world by FIFA. The higher the team was ranked within this group, the fewer games you needed for the national team.

Korea is currently at number 50 and has been hovering around that point for a while, so it can be a matter of timing. Last summer, Kim Bo-kyung had a request turned down. Blackburn Rovers wanted to sign the player. At the time, he didn’t meet the requirements but under the previous rules, the club would have appealed and probably won. Not anymore.

Players from the European Union do not have to meet these requirements. They are allowed to come and go freely with no restrictions. That could now change, though nobody knows what will happen. There is plenty of EU talent in the Premier League and it is usually cheaper than home grown talent.

Unless there is a special deal made during the Brexit negotiations that will take place over the coming weeks, months and years, then players from the European Union will lose their right to work in England. That means that if the players are from France, Spain, Ireland or wherever else, then they will have to apply for a work permit like everyone else.

If such a thing comes to pass then, in theory, it could be good for Korean players, assuming that the national team stays in the top 50. Then, it will be just as easy for English clubs to sign a player from Seoul as it will be from Stockholm or Stuttgart. English teams are unlikely to stop buying European players all together, but there are likely to be fewer.

This reduction of foreign talent in England should mean a reduction in competition, in theory. The price of English players is already high and Brexit could push it higher still. This could make Korean players more attractive as, if they are coming from Asia, they will be relatively cheap.

There are downsides. Son Heung-min did not need a work permit when he moved from Bayer Leverkusen to England. Three years of residence in one EU country meant that he could automatically play in England. Again, it remains to be seen what actually happens but this is one avenue that could be closed in the future.

There is another way -- though rarely used -- that may also be blocked. Until now, if an English team bought a player who did not meet work permit requirements, he could be loaned out to another team in the European Union for three years and then return to England.

This is what Manchester United did with Chinese winger Dong Fangzhou and Arsenal did with Ryo Miyaichi of Japan. The pair went to Belgium and the Netherlands before heading back to start what turned out to be unsuccessful careers in England.

There is also the fact that if the British pound remains weakened then Koreans will be sending less back to their bank accounts back home.

At the moment, the English Premier League is certainly still the promised land for most aspiring stars in Korea. How long that lasts is uncertain. Brexit may make it easier, or more difficult, to go. Like everything else, time will tell.