Is Foreign Ownership Affecting Youth Development in the EPL?

The English Premier League is widely considered to be the best and most commercially viable entity of its type in the world, with a global audience of more than 1.35 billion spread across 188 countries.

Domestically, the Premier league’s international TV deals will be worth a staggering £5.3 billion for the 2022 to 2025 cycle, contributing to a cumulative package worth £10.5 billion when you factor in domestic rights.

However, many will argue that creating such as competitive widely viewed product has come at the expense of youth development in the UK, with this issue compounded by a dramatic rise in the number of wealthy and impatient foreign owners.

But are these factors really impacting youth development in the UK, and what does this mean for the future of the Premier League and English national team?

How Many English Players Are There in the EPL?

According to the most recent figures, some 63.7% of the 546 listed players in the EPL aren’t English, meaning that just 36.3% of performers in the Premier League are eligible to play for the England national team.

To provide some context, this percentage is considerably lower when compared to the other so-called “Big Five” leagues, particular La Liga in Spain.

Here, just 223 of the 514 listed players are foreign-born, meaning that an impressive 56.6% of the roster are Spanish and in contention for a place in Luis Enrique’s national side. Then comes the Bundesliga, where there are around 212 German players who account for 45% of the total playing staff in the competition.

In Serie A, 307 of the 551 listed players (55.7%) aren’t Italian nationals, creating a total of 44.3% who are eligible to play for the country.

As we can see, the Premier League continues to lag behind its closest rivals, arguably creating a smaller pool of talent for England manager Gareth Southgate to choose from when compared to his peers.

Is This Issue Being Compounded by the Rise of Foreign Ownership?

Interestingly, this trend has also coincided with the exponential growth of foreign owners in the Premier League (and English football as a whole).

According to the latest UEFA club benchmarking report, some 40% of Premier League clubs (eight in total) are majority owned by overseas investors, with an additional 35% (seven clubs) known to have foreign investors as minority stakeholders.

At face value, it would appear as though there’s a direct link between a rise in foreign ownership and a decline in the number of English players, and there are a couple of reasons to support this observation.

Firstly, clubs that are majority owned by foreign investors are likely to have received significant cash injections from their owners, who will look to secure a return on their investment as quickly as possible.

This means that there’s little time to identify and development local talent within the club’s academies, as managers are often on borrowed time and instead compelled to invest in ready-made talent from overseas to help achieve their objectives.

Similarly, those who operate as qualified coaches are tasked with developing first team stars and tactics rather than prioritising youth, making it harder for younger players to reach their full potential.

At the same time, international owners and stakeholders won’t have any affinity with the local community or history of a particular football club.

This makes them indifferent to where players come from or the relationship that they may have with a particular club or its supporters, so long as they can add value to the first team and help secure the results that translate into relative success and a financial return.

The Last Word – Delving Beyond the Numbers

These make for compelling arguments, and it’s easy to see why a rise in foreign ownership and a culture of impatience would impact negatively on youth development on these shores.

However, we need to consider the numbers in relevant context. Firstly, the number of English players active in the Premier League actually peaked at a 17-year high during the 2021/22 season, while this figure has risen incrementally in the last three years.

What’s more, further exploration of the composition of foreign players in the Premier League reveals that 24.4% of this number originate from Ireland, Scotland or Wales. This means that just 39.3% of all EPL players have come from outside Great Britain, with this causing us to view the numbers in a slightly different perspective.

After all, a high proportion of Irish, Welsh or Scottish players can reside in England or join EPL academies at an incredibly young age, as opposed to the majority of international stars who are born, raised and coached overseas until they arrive in the Premier League.

So, while foreign ownership has undoubtedly changed the landscape of topflight football in England by ramping up the levels of investment and demands placed on managers, the number of English and British-born players at EPL clubs has continually to increase nominally in recent years.

Similarly, the English national team arguably has its best, deepest and most talented selection of young players for years, with stars like Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham having all emerged at leading academies in recent times.

So, there’s considerable room for optimism going forward, while the rise of foreign ownership may not have been as detrimental on youth development as some initially feared.