Impacts of Brexit

on Sports in UK
Introduction
Sport, is a valuable contributor to both the social and economic
framework of the UK.
Economic activity relating to sports consumption or participation
contributes £20.3bn in total direct GVA to the UK economy according to
Sport England.
Premier League and the 20 PL clubs contributed £3.36bn to UK GDP.
Brexit, Vote for leaving UK have quite a tendency to impact this.
Impacts of Brexit on Sports
Loss of free movement.
Firstly, English players may not be able to move to the continent freely.
EU nationals could be subject to entry restrictions when seeking to play
in England.
Brexit, will affect not only individual athletes but organisers and
promoters of events as well.
Loss of free movement is a worry for professional sporting leagues who
are concerned about their ability to recruit the best players post Brexit.
Conti..
The price of British players becomes vastly inflated as clubs try to meet
the requirements of having enough homegrown representation in their
squads.
Brexit will have impact on cricket and rugby union, where many players
from South Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific Islands have come to play
in the English domestic leagues.
Polo may be affected with many Argentine players with European
grandparents currently being able to play in the English season.
Impacts on Premier league
The Premier League is a hugely successful sporting competition that has
strong domestic and global appeal.
Within a few hours of the result being confirmed, the Premier League
played down concerns that the competition could be adversely affected
Brexit could also spell the end of the influx of teenage players from the
European Union, who were previously considered as “homegrown”
players who, irrespective of nationality or age.
British football clubs may find themselves only able to sign foreign
players over the age of 18.
Conti..
One believed benefit of Brexit could be an increase in the pool of talent
available for British national teams.
The younger British players whose pathway to first team was blocked
by foreign players may get more opportunities.
It is also believed to be advantageous in that it would allow to favour
the development of English-qualified players to the potential advantage
of the national team
But, it could be damaging to leagues/clubs who would be less
competitive in their ability to attract the best players from across the
continent.
Conclusions
The focus of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is likely to be
on the impact on the City and migration, the impact on the sports world
could be significant.
The impact will depend on the terms the UK negotiates for its continued
relationship with the EU.
If the agreement with the EU includes broad free movement obligations
then movement of players between the continent and the UK will most
likely continue.
If, instead, an agreement is reached which includes restrictions on the
movement then the impact on the sports world would be more
significant.
References
Aarons., E. 2016. Brexit vote: what does it mean for professional sport in
the UK? (Online) Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-
news/2016/jun/24/brexit-vote-what-does-it-mean-professional-sport-
eu (06/04/2018)
Shepwedd., 2016. Brexit Analysis Bulletin; Sports (Online) Available at:
https://www.shepwedd.co.uk/sites/default/files/Brexit_Analysis_Bulleti
n_Sports.pdf (06/04/2018)