Tools

Could an English club actually sign you?

Every serious version of this calculator is sold to professional clubs. This one is for the player and the parent. It applies the FA's 2026/27 points criteria.

Last updated 2026-11-11

All six point tables, the league bands and both age thresholds were checked line by line against the FA's published 2026/27 criteria on 11 November 2026. It is still guidance: the FA decides, and the criteria are revised every season.

The player Date of birth Born 2005 or later counts as a Youth Player. Born 2003 or later may qualify for the ESC route.

Senior international appearances Percentage of available competitive senior internationals played Youth internationals score nothing here. This is senior caps only. Your association's aggregated FIFA ranking

Your current club Which band is your league in? Percentage of available domestic league minutes played I made my first-team debut in the last 12 months Worth 6 points in a Band 1 league, down to 1 in Band 6. Only one debut counts, and it is used instead of the minutes row when it scores higher. In the last 12 months I was named in a matchday squad for this club, or played 1%+ of its domestic cup minutes Without this, your club's league quality scores nothing — and that is worth up to 12 points. Last season I was named in a matchday squad for my last club, or played 1%+ of its domestic cup minutes A separate test, on a different club and a different period. It gates your last club's league finish and European run. If you are on loan, which band is your parent club in? If you are loaned down and have made a first-team appearance for your parent club in the last 12 months, the parent club's band is used instead.

Continental competition Which competition? Percentage of available continental minutes played How far did your club go? If the competition is knock-out only, any round before the Round of 32 scores as the group stage.

Your club's league finish Where did they finish?

What the result means

Auto Pass — enough senior international football that the GBE is granted automatically.
15 points or more — pass.
10 to 14 points — the club can take you to an Exceptions Panel, but only if it can evidence exceptional circumstances that stopped you reaching 15. It costs the club £5,000 plus VAT.
Under 10 points — the realistic route is the ESC one, if you were born in 2003 or later and the club has a free ESC Place. A Premier League or Championship club has at most four of those at any one time, and a player on loan fills a place at both clubs.

Three things people get wrong

There is no transfer fee or wage criterion. The word "salary" appears once in the FA's whole document, and only in the club's duty to notify the Home Office if something changes. The money thresholds in the England route belong to the Home Office, not the FA: £1,270 in maintenance funds, and £35,800 a year in basic pay for settlement.

Youth caps score zero. They matter in two places only — they can get you through the ESC eligibility gate, and a youth call-up excuses club minutes you missed. They never earn points.

The GBE is not the visa. It is the FA's endorsement. You still need a Certificate of Sponsorship and permission under the International Sportsperson route, which sets its own age floor of 16. Families conflate these constantly.

If you are under 18

The FA's criteria contain no provision for under-18s at all. The binding constraint is FIFA's Article 19. Since England left the EU, the exception that lets 16 to 18-year-olds move within the EU and EEA does not apply to a move into England. In practice a non-British under-18 has to fit another exception — most realistically that their parents move for reasons unconnected with football.

You may also see claims that clubs can sign "six under-21 players a season". That was the original 2021 arrangement. It no longer exists, and is still repeated on current law firm pages.

Sources

The FA, Men's Players — Points Based System, 2026/27 Season — thefa.com
Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix International Sportsperson — gov.uk