Homegrown Player Regulations in the EFL: What You Need to Know
Watford is one of the clubs that features several homegrown players who don't represent England or Wales.
In the EFL's Championship, League One, and League Two, teams are required to have at least eight homegrown players registered in their squads.
For league matches, clubs must include a minimum of seven homegrown players in their matchday lineup.
A homegrown player is defined as anyone who has been registered with their current club or any English or Welsh club for three seasons or 36 months before they turn 21, or by the end of the season in which they reach that age.
It’s worth noting that these homegrown player rules only apply to league fixtures and are not enforced in the FA Cup, EFL Cup, or EFL Trophy.
The Premier League has its own unique set of rules regarding squad lists and homegrown player designations.
A recent example highlighting the interpretation of these rules came during Watford's 2-0 victory over Charlton Athletic. In that match, Mattie Pollock and Marc Bola were the only players listed as English in the matchday squad.
However, players like Hector Kyprianou (Cyprus), Jordan Zemura (Zimbabwe), Daniel Bachmann (Austria), Stephy Mavididi (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Amin Nabizada (Afghanistan) are regarded as homegrown because of their youth club experiences in England.
After the summer transfer window, each EFL club must include at least one club-developed player on their matchday squad list or team sheet. If a team fails to meet this requirement, they can only have one less player on their bench for that game.
In the Championship, this means having eight substitutes instead of nine, while in League One and League Two, it results in six substitutes instead of seven.
Players under the age of 21 are not counted towards squad lists in all three EFL divisions, and goalkeepers are exempt from the squad lists in League One and League Two.
