Young Non European Footballers Still Struggle For Work Permits

This may come as very surprising news for fans of English football in the 21st century - particularly with so many foreign names flooding our professional leagues from the Premiership all the way down to League 2 - but it seems that even today, many young non European footballers are still encountering serious difficulties in settling in at their new clubs here in the UK. With the numerous top names earning big, big money in the English Premier League, it is easy to forget the problems that a young player may face when uprooting themselves and their young families to start a new life in English football.
Simple day to day things that we often take for granted can often be problematic in themselves, and barriers such as learning a new language, adjusting to the English culture and way of life, and the potential intimidation felt by “standing out” in what may often be predominantly English ethnic areas of the country can making settling into a new club very difficult. Add to this the problems of constant pressure from the English sporting press (particularly at the top level of the English game) and the possible difficulties with immigration and acquiring a work visa (which has proved problematic in recent years even for top established international players - such as Chelsea’s Alex) and you can understand that there are many factors that often go unconsidered by the average English football fan and the UK sports media.
While English clubs do have internal measures in place to try to help young players acclimatize to such conditions they can't account for every outcome, and naturally it will take time for foreign players to properly settle into their clubs. So please, before you start laying into your latest expensive foreign import on the terraces this weekend, put yourself in their position and spare some thought for the problems they may have encountered just to be able to pull on your team’s shirt.