poklane on 24 June 2016
FIFA Article 19:
1. International transfers of players are only permitted if the player is over the age of 18.
2. The following three exceptions to this rule apply (I'm not listing all 3 since only 1 matters at the moment):
- b) The transfer takes place within the territory of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) and the player is aged between 16 and 18.
This is absolutely great news for small countries such as The Netherlands and Belgium who can't offer their talented youth the same money English teams can (assuming the UK is also out the EEA). Right now English teams can get talented youth from across the EU and EEA as soon as they turn 16, this would change to 18 if the UK is also out the EEA.
