Latest news with #GBE
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Nypan to Man City and how clubs navigate post-Brexit market
On the face of it, Manchester City's £12.5m deal to sign Norwegian teenage prodigy Sverre Nypan is the Premier League side looking to the with the UK no longer part of the European Union, clubs now have to navigate a more complex transfer and work permit system to ensure players - especially those who are yet to establish themselves at the top level - are able to move to is 18, has yet to earn full international honours for Norway, but he has signed a five-year contract at Etihad Stadium in what has been a record sale for Brexit, clubs have to consider regulations around Governing Body Endorsements (GBE) and, more recently, Elite Significant Contributions (ESC) - the criteria which has made it easier for English teams to sign United's deal for left-back Diego Leon this summer and Tottenham's move two years ago for defender Luka Vuskovic are perfect examples, while Chelsea have also used the system how do clubs plot their way through the market now? So what is a GBE? GBE stands for Governing Body Endorsement which, since January 2021, has been required for any non-British player to play professionally in the are two main ways to get a GBE - an autopass, or qualification through criteria compiled by the Football players gain an autopass through their international record, earned by the number of appearances for their national team over the past two most cases only competitive fixtures are included, with friendlies only considered in extreme cases such as a lack of competitive internationals in the players have played more than 30% of games for a nation ranked 1-10 in the world they will be eligible for an autopass. If they represent a side ranked 31-50 - including Norway, Romania and Ivory Coast - they must have played over 70%.Spain international Martin Zubimendi, who joined Arsenal for a deal worth almost £60m from Real Sociedad, has an autopass. But Brighton signing Charalampos Kostoulas, bought from Olympiakos for over £30m in June, had to qualify for a GBE with 17 points.A minimum of 15 points is required, earned through a variety of criteria - league quality, domestic minutes played, league position, continental progress and minutes played in continental competitions, including the Champions League or the Copa Libertadores in South Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are all considered Band One and earn players 12 Two includes the English Championship (when signing non-British players who do not automatically qualify), Portugal's Primeira Liga, the Eredivisie in the Netherlands, Belgian First Division A, the Turkish Super Lig, while Band Three includes Major League Soccer in the United States. The Greek Super League is considered Band Four, while Band Five includes Poland's has yet to feature for Greece, but playing in the Super Lig earned him six points, his domestic minutes percentage counted for three, Olympiakos winning the title earned him three and reaching the Europa League quarter-finals earned four, with his minutes played on that run earning another one point. But what is an ESC? The ESC rules allow a team in England [only England in the UK] to hold the registration of a player who does not qualify for a full GBE - one who cannot reach 15 points or get an in the Premier League and Championship have up to four ESC spots each, but they are not entitled to all four main consideration for the number of slots is the percentage of minutes clubs give to their English magic number is 35%. Dropping below that begins to reduce the number of ESC slots available to Premier League and Championship One and Two clubs have a maximum of two ESC spots, although sides at that level are unlikely to be in the international market as a slot is used on a signing, such as Nypan, it is gone until such time as the individual is sold or converted into a full GBE can happen after 12 months if a player in an ESC slot then meets the GBE criteria or plays a certain percentage of available minutes for the team. Their ESC slot is then could happen if the player plays in 25% or more of matches which qualify for the are criteria to bring in a player on an ESC - it is not a complete wildcard.A player can hit any of eight clauses presented by the FA in their GBE regulations. These include: playing in at least one competitive youth or senior international match for a top-50 ranked nation, or five times if the country is outside the top could also have played in at least five domestic youth or senior competition matches, but they must be in a Band 1-5 example, Cherif Yaya, who joined Nottingham Forest in July from Portuguese club Rio Ave - both clubs owned by Evangelos Marinakis - moved to England on an ESC. Who is using the system well? Manchester City made their first move using an ESC to secure Nypan. The teenager did not qualify for a GBE as he only has seven avenue of clubs bringing in 16-year-olds, like Arsenal did with Cesc Fabregas in 2003, are over because of Fifa regulations stopping them from signing players under 18 Brexit, this rule was superseded by the EU's freedom of movement, therefore the movement of 16 and 17-year-olds is still frequent within the EU and one of the main reasons more Irish players can now be found in European there are other ways. Tottenham signed Vuskovic under ESC rules when he was 16 in 2023. The centre-back stayed with Hajduk Split before being loaned to Radomiak Radom in Poland and Belgium side played 36 times last season, scoring seven goals, as Westerlo finished seventh in Belgium's top flight. Spurs' work paid off with Vuskovic now classed as a GBE and he made his Croatia debut against Czech Republic last have also utilised the system to their advantage. Andrey Santos signed in January 2023 from Vasco de Gama, remaining with the Brazilian side on loan after initially missing out on a work was issued one that summer and sent on loan to Nottingham Forest for 2023-24, but he managed just two appearances before instead joining Strasbourg, Chelsea's French sister club, on an 18-month Paez, Mike Penders, Dario Essugo and Estevao Willian have also all moved to Stamford Bridge this summer on GBE deals, after initially staying with their parent have been active in the ESC market by signing 18-year-old winger Antonio Cordero from Malaga."The trend is to get young players and put them on a long contract and it gives you a lot of flexibility," said Andy Watson, owner of website GBE Expert Hub, who guides clubs on the intricacies of the system."Then hopefully they establish themselves. Santos at Chelsea is a great example. They will probably keep him but could have sold him for tens of millions."It's become a business in terms of player trading. You need to have careful planning. You can't just sign anybody."With the ESC slots there has been more freedom, but there still needs to be a plan of how to get the players out of those slots. You can only use four."ESC is being used to sign players who are very young and a bit more of a risk and it wouldn't surprise you if the ones who have used ESC more than others are Bournemouth, Aston VIlla, Wolves."About 75-80% of the ESC transfers [in 2024-25] have been for 18-year-olds." What about the lower leagues? There has been a rapid rise in international recruitment in the Championship, owing much to the introduction of the season, according to GBE Expert Hub, there were approximately 59 ESC transfers, up from approximately 23 in 23-24 season, while there were 107 GBE-related deals, rising from 19 in 2021-22 when the regulations were first Isidor scored 12 goals for Sunderland after initially joining on loan from Zenit St Petersburg, helping the Black Cats return to the Premier League after an eight-year ESC move became a GBE one once the Black Cats made the deal permanent in Torbjorn Heggem missed just one league game for West Brom after joining from Sweden's IF Brommapojkarna, while Derby goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom played 41 games having signed from Djurgaarden in Sweden."There's been almost an explosion of overseas recruitment in the last 12 months which I don't think people foresaw - a lot of people felt Brexit would restrict foreign trade and it hasn't," said Watson."It tells you recruitment teams are using the data more in the non-domestic market."There aren't as many bad decisions being made at Championship level [compared to the past] and not as many clubs getting into trouble. ESC and Brexit form part of it."The regulations of GBE almost ringfence the pool of players you can go for, so you are not taking as many risks or making as many bad decisions. That is one of the good things from the regulations."With the 15 points needed for a GBE, it is unlikely players available to League One and League Two clubs would qualify, so the ESC opens up more profited from the rule by signing New Zealand centre-back Tyler Bindon from LAFC academy in 2023, before selling him to Nottingham Forest in February. He is due to play on loan for Sheffield United this Country signed American goalkeeper Tyler Miller on an ESC in April after striker Alassana Jatta played enough minutes to qualify as a GBE and free up an extra spot. Miller was released at the end of the Szabolcs Schon played 44 times last season after joining on an ESC from Hungarian side Fehervar, while Peterborough signed defender Oscar Wallin and forward Gustav Lindgren from Degerfors last season.
The National
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Yang Celtic transfer twist after Championship club 'watch' winger
The South Korean forward had been linked with a move to England, with question marks over his future in Glasgow emerging. However, it's thought Norwich chiefs are not pushing to sign the player, with alternative options preferred. #NCFC not currently pursuing Celtic's Yang Hyun-Jun, who they have watched. Talks ongoing over Pape Diallo, who they're willing to use an ESC slot for amid GBE concerns. Burnley and Wolfsburg getting closer to Josh Sargent price but not there yet. Charlie Taylor a LB option. — Samuel Seaman (@SamSeaman8) July 14, 2025 According to The Pink Un, Norwich scouts did watch Yang ahead of the summer window, but are not actively pursuing a transfer move. It comes after reports over the weekend suggested Yang had signalled his intent to leave Celtic this summer. Read more: It had been reported that Celtic had not made a decision on whether Yang would be allowed to explore a transfer move away from Parkhead. Legia Warsaw previously made an enquiry to Celtic over Yang. The winger made 34 appearances for Celtic in all competitions last season, scoring six goals and providing six assists.
Telegraph
25-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour MPs block ban on Chinese solar panels ‘made by slaves'
Ministers said they would take steps to ensure more stringent procurement rules, such as appointing a senior figure within GB Energy (GBE) to lead on examining 'ethical supply chains and modern slavery'. They also said that companies would have to demonstrate that they had undertaken their own assessment of their supply chains, but stopped short of supporting the Lords' ban. Critics, including on the Labour benches, said that the Government should look to mirror laws in the US, where it is presumed that goods produced in Xinjiang are made with forced labour unless otherwise proven and are subject to an import ban. The amendment was voted down by 314 votes to 198. It had proposed that public money 'must not be provided if there exists credible evidence of modern slavery in the energy supply chain of any company designated Great British Energy'. No Labour MPs defied the Government by voting for the amendment, but several abstained, including prominent backbench critics such as Rachael Maskell and Alex Sobel, a member of the parliamentary joint committee on human rights. Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, told the Commons: 'It was on this day in 1807 that the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act received royal assent, on this day. 'And 218 years on, Labour MPs are going to be whipped to allow the state to directly fund imports of goods built by slave labour in China.' 'A ridiculous position' He added that the amendment would have sought 'to protect some of the most oppressed people in the world' and 'to ensure that our net zero objectives, whatever your view on them, won't be built on the back of slave labour, on the backs of the Uyghur Muslims of Xinjiang and elsewhere'. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader who is sanctioned by China, told the Commons: 'Many in this House will not stop until the Government faces up to one thing and one thing only: not one life through modern slavery is worth a lower cost of a solar panel. 'And that should be an epitaph of this ridiculous position the Government is in.' Michael Shanks, an energy minister, told the Commons: 'I want this House to be in no doubt that this government is absolutely committed to confronting and tackling modern slavery in energy supply chains.' He added: 'We do expect Great British Energy to take a leading role in ensuring that any companies in which it invests can demonstrate their own assessment of their own supply chains for exposure to forced labour. 'I can assure the house that with these tools, GBE will tackle modern slavery head-on and where there is credible evidence that of involvement anywhere in the supply chains, GBE will not only make sure that it does everything within its power to combat the scourge of modern slavery but also pull up the standards expected for the wider UK energy sector in the process.' A £200 million investment by the Government-funded budget for GBE announced on Friday, will place solar panels on school roofs and on NHS hospitals to try and save money on energy bills. A minister insisted that there would be no material in government-purchased solar panels made by slaves. 'We need to see action' Matthew Pennycook, a housing minister, when asked if he could guarantee materials would not have been 'provided by slaves in China ', told Times Radio: 'Absolutely.' He said: 'I understand the concern that people have out there about the use of the Uyghur region. What I'm saying I suppose is we need to see action across the whole of the energy industry and that's why we're working across government to tackle the issue of forced labour in supply chains.' A 2023 report from the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University said: 'In 2020, China produced 75pc of the global supply of solar-grade polysilicon, with manufacturers in the Uyghur region accounting for over 45pc of the total global production. 'There is overwhelming evidence that major producers and manufacturers have actively recruited and employed 'transferred surplus [slave] labour' from rural villages.' In December, The Telegraph reported that tomato and pepper products sold in British supermarkets were secretly produced using forced labour in China, an investigation has found.
