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Fewer home-grown players, more foreigners |
| Theallineed.com |
The trend towards internationalisation in football continues, at least in Europe. The second edition of the Annual Review of the European Football Players' Labour Market shows a decrease in the number of home-grown players and an increase in the number of foreign players. What is more, the report by Raffaele Poli and Loïc Ravenel from the International Center for Sport Studies (CIES) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and the Centre d'Etude et de Recherche sur le Sport et l'Observation des Territoires of the University of Franche-Comté (France), also shows a greater professional mobility among players.
According to the Review to be published on 27 September 2007, home-grown players represent 24.3% of the total number of 2,744 footballers employed by the 98 clubs of the five top European leagues in England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. This represents a decrease of 2.5% in comparison to 2005-2006. This trend has been particularly important in France (-6.8%), even though French clubs still have by far the highest percentage of home-grown players with 33.3%. The situation is the opposite in Ital, which only has 14.6% of home-grown players.
On the other hand, the percentage of foreigners in clubs' squads has reached 38.9% (+0,5%). This percentage has increased especially in Germany (+3.8%) and Spain (+2.5%), while it has decreased in France (-2.4%) and in Italy (-1.6%). The Premier League is the most international with the percentage of foreign players amounting to 55.5%.
 | | < ((AFP)) |
The most represented nation is Brazil (140). The country whose number of expatriates has most increased is the United States. The proportion among foreigners of Eastern Europeans (+1.2%), North Americans, Asians and Oceanians (+1.5%) has increased to the detriment of Western Europeans (-1.3%) and Latin Americans (-1.2%). In total, 91 (+1) nationalities are represented in the five top leagues today.
Another salient feature is the increasing frequency of transfers undertaken by players during their professional career. On average, footballers employed by clubs in the five top European leagues change team 3.4 times every ten years (+3.6% compared to the 2005-2006 season). The highest increase took place in Germany (+6.4%). The proportion of international transfers (between clubs located in different countries) during players' careers has also risen (27.9%, +0.6%). The percentage of footballers playing for the same club for at least three seasons has diminished (32.9%, -1.2%). The club with the most stable squad is FC Barcelona (76% of the players have been employed since at least August 2004).
The 2nd Annual Review of the European Football Players' Labour Market has two novelties as it now follows the evolution of the different indicators over time and is available in bilingual text combining French and English. Data refer principally to the topics of training, international recruitment and professional mobility of players. Thanks to the support of the FIFA through the João Havelange scholarship, the site www.eurofootplayers.org will be also available in French and English from October onwards.
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