FIFA's new Under-21 player rule could result in seismic change to transfer market

News

Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

Clubs could be forced to keep at least one homegrown Under-21 player on the field of play at all times under radical new proposals by FIFA.

Football's governing body is keen to ensure the continued development of young players by giving them as much senior football as possible but if the plans are authorised, we could see a seismic shift in how clubs operate in the transfer market, with younger and younger players set to be targeted.

The average age of players purchased by clubs in the Premier League is already dropping year-on-year, and this would see that trend perhaps go to an even lower average age.

The 2024/25 season saw an average starting XI age of 26 years and 273 days - three days younger than the previous record set in 2007-08.

That is on course to drop again in 2025/26, with the average hovering at 26 years and 94 days.

UEFA currently implements a “homegrown” rule which requires eight players in a club’s 25-man squad list to be locally trained but this does not actually force clubs to utilise these youngsters on the pitch.

A Fifa statement read: “The Fifa Council unanimously approved a consultation process with all relevant stakeholders for a regulatory obligation that senior club teams are obliged to always have at least one homegrown player from the U20 or U21 category on the field of play, and for the proposal to be submitted to the Fifa Council in the next year.”

The relevant stakeholders, in this case, would be national associations, player unions and confederations.

“We want to help young players develop and promote homegrown players, and there are many examples of clubs just buying in established stars instead of giving academy players a proper chance,” one insider told The Times.

“There may be considerable opposition but we need to hear from all parts of the game and then this can be taken into account for any proposal that is put forward.”

Which teams could be impacted the most?

Aston Villa, Burnley, Brentford and Leeds United have not had a single English player under the age of 21 make a start in the 2025/26 Premier League season, while Bournemouth have had just one.

Arsenal and Liverpool have handed starts to just two players who meet the criteria.

In terms of minutes played this season, Newcastle lead the way with 3,290 minutes given to young, English talent, with Man City in second (2,850 mins) and Man Utd in third (2,262 mins).

City have had Nico O'Reilly pretty ever-present this season, while Kobbie Mainoo was finally given time to shine under Michael Carrick at Man Utd, having been frozen out of the starting XI by previous manager Ruben Amorim.

At the other end of the spectrum, only Leeds and Burnley have failed to give a single minute to an English player under 21 this campaign.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store