Local football players and clubs face either having their dreams of playing in the English Premier League (EPL) dashed or realised, following Great Britain’s vote to leave the European Union (EU).
Following the vote on June 23 which also led to Prime Minister David Cameron to announce his immediate resignation, as leader of the government, a professor of sports enterprise at the Salford University Simon Chadwick, predicted in a report that British clubs may face difficulty in securing high profile summer targets due to expected increase in transfer fees and salaries, as the currency has already gone up.
According to Chadwick, such as situation can lead English clubs recruiting more homegrown players.
In T&T, players and clubs face the possibility of English clubs opting to go after cheaper players in T&T and other players instead of their elite pursuits or focus on local players which would further increase the difficulty of TT players moving to clubs in England.
Ex-national coach Keith Look Loy said the possibility of either happening is very real, saying most people who voted for England’s exit from the EU, have not fully understood the implications of their decision.
“It is now up to the clubs to decide what they want to do and which is more economical for them. We just have to wait and see what happens in the coming years” Look Loy said.
Look Loy, who represented T&T in the 1970s, expressed concerns regarding changes in the regulations for players moving to English clubs to ply their trade in the future.
Presently players seeking to play in the English Premier League are to meet a requirement of having played in 75 percent of matches for their country.
“I am wondering if that requirement may change from the vote, so we will just have to sit and wait to see what happens,” the ex-TT player explained. Like Chadwick, Look Loy, the Sports and Games Santa Rosa coach believes the English and the rest of the world would feel the impact of the vote in a couple years.
Meanwhile Dexter Skeene, the T&T Pro League Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said he believes the vote would make situations more difficult for T&T players dreaming of a move to the EPL. “If English clubs find it challenging to secure the services of top international players, it does not necessarily mean that they would go after players who are not elites.
In fact they may most likely give preference to English players, which would then make it further difficult for T&T players wanting to play in the EPL” Skeene explained.
The TT Pro League boss also expressed concerns over possible changes in the regulations for players entering the EPL, saying he agrees with Chadwick’s predictions that the vote could lower freedom of movement restrictions on the rest of the world.
Like Look Loy, Skeene said we all just have to wait and see how it will unfold in the coming years.