Editing Premier League (section)

===Transfer regulations and foreign players===
{{see also|List of foreign Premier League players|List of foreign Premier League goalscorers}}

[[Transfer (association football)|Player transfers]] may only take place within [[transfer window]]s set by the Football Association. The two transfer windows run from the last day of the season to 31 August and from 31 December to 31 January. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific licence from the FA, usually on an emergency basis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7a/20/0,,12306~139386,00.pdf |title=Premier League rules |publisher=Premier League |year=2010 |page=150 |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306153852/http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7a/20/0%2C%2C12306~139386%2C00.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2009 }}</ref> As of the [[2010–11 Premier League|2010–11 season]], the Premier League introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 25-man squad of players aged over 21, with the squad list only allowed to be changed in transfer windows or in exceptional circumstances.<ref name=PLHomeGrownPlayerRules16Jul2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~2094341,00.html |title=Home Grown Player rules |publisher=Premier League |date=16 July 2010 |access-date=5 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813203222/http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0%2C%2C12306~2094341%2C00.html |archive-date=13 August 2010 }}</ref><ref name=BBC27July2010NewRules>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8858634.stm |title=New Premier League squad rules explained |website=BBC Sport |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=5 August 2010 |archive-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112083621/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8858634.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> This was to enable the "home grown" rule to be enacted, whereby the Premier League would also from 2010 require at least eight members of the named 25-man squad to be "home-grown players".<ref name=PLHomeGrownPlayerRules16Jul2010/>

At the inception of the Premier League in [[1992–93 FA Premier League|1992–93]], just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4487212-3057,00.html |last=Atkinson |first=Ron |title=England need to stem the foreign tide |newspaper=The Guardian |date=23 August 2002 |access-date=10 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710121246/http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2002/aug/23/sport.comment/print |archive-date=10 July 2012}}</ref> By [[2000–01 FA Premier League|2000–01]], the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36% of the total. In the [[2004–05 FA Premier League|2004–05]] season, the figure had increased to 45%. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,474626,00.html |title=Phil Neal: King of Europe? |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=10 August 2006 |first=Sean |last=Ingle |date=12 June 2001 |archive-date=4 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004042330/http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2001/apr/18/theknowledge.sport |url-status=live }}</ref> and on 14 February 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4266443.stm |title=Wenger backs non-English line-up |website=BBC Sport |date=14 February 2005 |access-date=10 August 2006 |archive-date=3 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803044922/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4266443.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2009, under 40% of the players in the Premier League were English.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8182090.stm |title=Where the Premier League's players come from |date=17 August 2009 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=3 October 2010 |first=Ollie |last=Williams |archive-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112083518/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8182090.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> By February 2020, 117 different nationalities had played in the Premier League, and 101 nationalities had scored in the competition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Samatta adds Tanzania to Premier League nations |url=https://www.premierleague.com/news/1591523 |access-date=1 February 2020 |publisher=Premier League |archive-date=1 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201224842/https://www.premierleague.com/news/1591523 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, the [[Home Office]] tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=32096&NewsAreaID=2 |title=New Work Permit Criteria for Football Players Announced |publisher=Department for Education and Employment |date=2 July 1999 |access-date=1 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154815/http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=32096&NewsAreaID=2 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75&nbsp;per&nbsp;cent of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal.<ref name=HOworkpermits>{{cite web |url=http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/work_permits0/applying_for_a_work/sports_and_entertainers/football_players.html |title=Work permit arrangements for football players |publisher=Home Office |access-date=1 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926091514/http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/work_permits0/applying_for_a_work/sports_and_entertainers/football_players.html |archive-date=26 September 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the implementation of [[Brexit]] in January 2021, new regulations were introduced which require all foreign players to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) in order to play football in the United Kingdom, regardless of EU status.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/dec/01/gbe-points-based-system-launched-011220 |title=Plan agreed on entry requirements for overseas players in England post-Brexit in 2021 |publisher=The Football Association |access-date=14 August 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814052954/https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/dec/01/gbe-points-based-system-launched-011220 |url-status=live }}</ref>