World of opportunities with GBE change
Last week’s changes to English football’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) rules present an enormous opportunity for both buyers and sellers. English clubs can now look globally for talent, identifying markets that are undervalued and eke out a competitive edge, while many selling leagues can now market players to the world’s biggest football economy.
For example, three markets that typify these opportunities:
1) J1 League: the 21st-best domestic player pool in the world, but no player sold to a European club for over £5m in 15 years.
2) Danish Superliga: one-third of the league’s 50 best players are under 23, with these players on average already good enough to start for leading Championship teams. Salaries are around 50% lower than equivalent Championship players.
3) North Africa: twenty Premier League-level players born in this region, but today are much more likely to reach England via other European countries.
By Omar Chaudhuri
Chief Intelligence Officer