Every Football Manager player has been there at some point: you’ve done your scouting, found the perfect player to add to your side as you continue your club’s push from lower league also-rans to continental titans. A fee is set, terms agreed, then just when you’re ready to start counting all the goals your striker is going to score for you, they get their work permit denied, and you can’t register them.
While it can be frustrating to run into problems with work permit rules in your FM games, it’s an important part of talent acquisition and roster management and something you need to understand to succeed in a lot of the world’s best leagues.
What Are Work Permits?
Work permits are real-world permits required by foreign workers to hold employment in a given country. While a professional footballer may be the kind of job you dream about, it’s still a job, which means players still need to meet local work regulations, most notably in leagues like the Premier League, and a work permit to be employed in that country.
When looking to sign a player from a foreign nation in a league with work permit requirements, you may be asked to file a petition to earn a permit for a proposed signing. Failing to acquire a permit means you can not register the player and may result in the termination of the deal entirely if you cannot find alternative solutions.
Important Factors For Work Permit Applications
When seeking to sign players who need work permits in Football Manager 26, it can be highly beneficial to know which players are and are not likely to meet the threshold required to attain a work permit, so you can actually play them. Here are the key considerations factored into an assessment of a player when determining whether they deserve a work permit:
- Where You’re Applying: The nation in which you are applying plays a huge part in whether a player is likely to have problems with permitting or not. In an ideal scenario, you manage in a league where work permits are not required, and you can simply sign whoever is the best fit for your plans; however, countries with stricter permit rules will require you to be more diligent in targeting.
- International Experience: The best way to get a player to pass through the permitting process is to target somebody with international team caps; the bigger the side, the better. Exceptional talent is commonly an assessment term when reviewing work permit applications, and a regular presence on a national team shows that the player is performing at a high level in their professional field.
- Player Usage: Likewise, a player who has received a lot of first-team minutes is more likely to be approved for a permit. Players who have exceptional talent but play for nations where it is challenging to break into the national team, particularly for young prospects, may instead rely on their time playing regularly for their club to show their value.
- Selling Club Reputation: Since team playing time factors in, so too does the level of the team. A player getting 90 minutes a game for a third-tier Spanish side is less likely to get one than a player getting spot starts and consistent substitute appearances at Barcelona or Real Madrid. Big minutes at a big club are a recipe for a good result.
Tricks For Getting Around Work Permit Issues
If you’re struggling to come to grips with work permits, these tips can help make the process easier and get you fielding more of the players you are excited to sign:
- Know Your National Rules: Understanding league and national rules is a must as an FM player. Just as you should review any registration rules and regulations when scouting for players, you should also be aware of the work permit situation in your country and tailor your searches accordingly, especially at lower levels where players are less likely to clear the bar.
- Target Wisely: Going after a player who ticks all the right boxes is great, but only if you have a way to feasibly get them into your team, be it this season or in the future. If a player simply doesn’t seem to have a reasonable pathway to a permit at your current level, you’re better off moving on and diverting resources elsewhere.
- Talk To Your Scouts: The pros watching players and rating and reviewing them have a good feel for the players in question. Your scouting can include estimates on whether a player is likely to receive a permit or not if applied for, to guide your targeting.
- Loan Your Permit Players Out: So, what do you do if you find a player that you are positive is the future of your club, but you can’t get the permits you need to actually play them? While abandoning your pursuit is often the best option, for special gems, you can consider buying to loan. Under this system, you can lock down the players’ rights, then loan them out somewhere where they will get the minutes required to build a better permit case in the future, letting you benefit when they come into their own and are ready to join your first team squad in the future.
- Watch Your Budget In Lower Leagues: Applying for work permits is expensive, so be careful going too far out on a limb on fruitless attempts, especially when on a tight budget. Make sure that any player is worth the risk, both in value and likely success, before dropping five figures on an application.
Work permits can be frustrating, but once you’re comfortable with them you’ll be filling your team with no problem. Get out there, get scouting and get signing to bring your next star in with the required permit you need to succeed!
