Of all of modern football’s bizarre rules and regulations, designating somebody as a ‘homegrown player’ should be as easy as it gets. Either they’re British or not, right? Well, sort of. The homegrown player rules are complicated somewhat by the fact that the definition of a domestic player varies from one competition to the next.
For example, Noni Madueke has been capped by England and is therefore defined as a homegrown player in the Premier League. However, the Arsenal man spent the latter part of his teenage years at PSV Eindhoven, so doesn’t fit UEFA’s criteria as a homegrown talent – hence, Madueke has to be registered as a ‘foreigner’ in the Champions League.
And yet Joao Pedro, he of three Brazil caps and counting, is counted as a homegrown British player by UEFA, as he spent time at Watford between his 18th and 21st birthdays. Confused? You should be. Gamely, we’re now going to try and explain the homegrown player rule, both in the Premier League and then in continental competitions that fall under UEFA’s remit.
What Are the Premier League Homegrown Player Rules?
It’s important to get clarification on the homegrown player rules, as each Premier League club is only allowed to select 17 foreigners in their squad list, which they must submit to the EPL no later than September 1st each season. A second squad list must be declared at the end of the January transfer window.
Therefore, given that the maximum squad size allowed is 25, each Premier League club must have at least eight players designated as homegrown in their declared allocation. So how does the Premier League recognise a player as homegrown? In their rulebook, a homegrown player is somebody who:
Irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
That explains how players that feature in international football for countries other than those of the UK are able to be classed as homegrown. Joao Pedro is one example, while Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya (who was at Blackburn Rovers as a youngster), Gunners attacker Gabriel Martinelli, Nathan Ake and Chelsea shot stopper Robert Sanchez are others.
Arsenal were particularly savvy with William Saliba, registering him in their Premier League squad back in 2019/20 despite the fact that they had packed the 18-year-old off to Saint Etienne on loan. Why? Because it would help accelerate his recognition as a homegrown player by a year.
It also perhaps helps to explain why Liverpool were so keen to sign Bayer Leverkusen right back Jeremie Frimpong to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Dutch international spent his formative years at Manchester City, so has homegrown status in the eyes of the Premier League.
The exception to the rule is players that are under the age of 21 during the current season. They don’t have to be included in the 25-man squad list, but can play in Premier League games irrespective of nationality. So, for the 2025/26 season, an Under-21 player is somebody that was born on, or before, January 1st, 2004.
The Premier League will listen to and amend a player’s status when the evidence calls for it. Chelsea queried Madueke’s status at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, with the EPL recognising that he should qualify as homegrown as per their rules.
What Are UEFA’s Homegrown Player Rules?
UEFA has their own set of rules regarding homegrown players that pertain to the competitions under their jurisdiction, namely the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The European governing body decrees that a player can be declared as homegrown if they have been trained by their current club, or by another from the same national association, for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
A club must name eight or more homegrown players in their squads for the competitions named above, with four of those to have been trained by the club’s own academy. All of which helps to explain the discrepancy in Madueke’s status between the Premier League and UEFA. He spent many years as a youngster in the youth ranks of Crystal Palace and Tottenham – hence his homegrown status in England.
But between the ages of 15 and 21 specifically, the winger was almost exclusively playing for Dutch side PSV. So, despite being a full England international, UEFA doesn’t recognise the Arsenal man as homegrown.
Why Is There a Homegrown Player Rule?
Back in 1995, the Bosman Ruling sent shockwaves through football. That legal case, brought by former Jean-Marc Bosman, changed transfer rules in football, allowing players to leave a club for free when their contracts ran out. So, a club fearing that one of their players will run down their deal and walk away for free, had a decision to make: let them leave or sell them earlier in their contracts to at least recoup some money.
The ruling meant that players had more power to control their own destiny, while cash-rich clubs were able to prey on vulnerable targets by acquiring players that had shown a likelihood of running down their contracts. That buying power meant that rich clubs were able to farm the most talented players from around the world, which was bad news for the development of youth team graduates looking for a pathway into first team football.
The homegrown player rule was introduced to effectively reverse this trend, forcing clubs to produce their own conveyor belt of young, domestic talent – or at least buy in homegrown players from sides in the same division as them. Critics argue that the homegrown player rule doesn’t go far enough to promote the development of ‘local’ talent, which can ramifications for the number that are playing regularly in elite competition… and, therefore, the success of national teams.
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