Friday, 29 Mar 2024

Brexit could help England WIN World Cup as UK talent becomes major focus says John Barnes

English clubs remain unsure on whether European Union players will be exempt from new immigration rules adopted after Brexit. But while doubts remain on the future immigration system Britain will adopt, England manager Gareth Southgate and the FA have urged clubs to shift their focus on English players to give them the chance to develop their talent. Former England player John Barnes told the BBC’s Today programme giving a chance to local players to develop their skills to later help the Three Lions get their hands back on the World Cup. 

Mr Barnes said: “We don’t know the legal ramifications of it however, you would assume that after Brexit, foreign players would need work permits, presumably.

“When they needed work permits in the past, it was always the very, very good foreign players who needed to get one, now you can get any foreign player coming in to get a work permit, so that could be an issue.

“You would think now that maybe the best players would come over and young British players have an opportunity to get into the top teams.

“They may be given an opportunity which then, further down the line, would lead to them getting the necessary experience, the necessary improvement to help the national team.”

JUST IN: Fury at ‘Marxist’ plot to force Queen to make Jeremy Corbyn PM and take control of Brexit

In England, we don’t have that, we don’t have that responsibility

John Barnes

Mr Barnes, who played for England U21 before being promoted to England to go on winning 79 caps with the team, also suggested local clubs recognising they have a responsibility to England and Three Lions fans could help improve their relationship with the fans.

He continued: “Do the clubs have a responsibility to England? Most of them are foreign-owned, many have also foreign managers.

“Where Germany improved to a certain extent after 2002, when the clubs felt a responsibility because they were locally-owned, they were all owned by the Germans, by the fans, they felt a responsibility to help German players.

“In England, we don’t have that, we don’t have that responsibility. Should the clubs actually give in? Maybe from a point of view of fans, yes.”

READ MORE: Brexit BOMBSHELL: How arch-Remainer George Osborne could be the one man to save EU exit

He added: “The law of the land is the law of the land, and if the law says foreign players need work permits, that’s what the situation is going to be.”

Boris Johnson has pledged to adopt an Australian-style immigration system after Brexit to deliver on his party’s pledge to bring down the number of yearly arrivals. 

The points-based system would focus on highly skilled young workers and would require prospective migrants to already have a firm job offer and “an ability to speak English” before being allowed into the UK.

During the Tory leadership contest, Mr Johnson said: “We must be much more open to high-skilled immigration such as scientists.

DON’T MISS:

France AND Italy lose faith in EU: Majority DO NOT trust Brussels [POLL]
Michael Gove lashes out at EU for ‘putting up barriers’ in fiery attack [VIDEO]
Bercow could seize control of Brexit agenda and ‘do virtually anything’ [LATEST]

“But we must also assure the public that, as we leave the EU, we have control over the number of unskilled immigrants coming into the country.

“We must be tougher on those who abuse our hospitality.”

Sources in the Prime Minister’s campaign team told the Daily Mail the new immigration system would be phased in shortly after his election through changes to the existing Immigration Bill, although the new system will not be brought in until 2021.

The immigration system Australia uses involves scoring migrants on a points system to work out how they will be valuable to the economy, including their qualifications, skills and age. 

Source: Read Full Article

Related Posts