Today is when the new GBE and ESC rules come into force. I have already done overviews of the changes in the men’s players, the men’s staff, and in the women’s game too.

The major changes have come primarily for the men’s game, and for the players specifically.

I will deal with the GBE banding changes in a separate article later this week, but for now I want to concentrate on what I believe will have the bigger impact, the change that means that ESC is now only available for players under the age of 23.

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Indeed, I have a stable of writers and scouts here whom I trust, and who have excellent knowledge of the leagues…

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Indeed, I have a stable of writers and scouts here whom I trust, and who have excellent knowledge of the leagues…

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The big one kicks off in only a couple of days and the eyes of the whole world turn to Mexico, Canada, and the United States for the next month.

We at the GBE Expert Hub are, at the end of the day, massive football fans, so we cannot help but do the same.

However, with a professional head on, I can’t help but ask, how many players that we will see over these 104 matches will be relevant from a GBE perspective, and how does playing in the World Cup actually affect your GBE status?

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Obviously, defending champions Argentina, and five-time champions Brazil, are the traditional powers of the confederation, whilst it has now been almost a century s…

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Having read the documentation I can only surmise that this is because the women's game documentation was ready to go, and had been for some time. The pressure has been more on the men's game, as we discussed in the piece on that released on Saturday.

So, what to report in the documentation?

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The overall guide to the legislation on this is still here, and still relevant, as very little has changed regarding this.

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The 2026 version of documents have been submitted much later than usual this season. From this I think that we can ascertain that there was a lot more work and negotiation behind the scenes before the rules were agreed.

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The 2025–26 Bulgarian First League season will be remembered as one of the most significant campaigns in the country’s modern era. Not only has the league produced a new champion, but it has also marked the definitive end of one of European football’s most sustained periods of domestic dominance.

Levski Sofia successfully maintained their advantage at the top of the table to secure the league title, ending Ludogorets’ remarkable run at the summit of Bulgarian football. Beyond the achievement itself, attention is already turning towards how Levski intends to strengthen ahead of both European competition and the defence of their crown.

Early indications suggest the club are targeting proven domestic performers to add greater depth and experience to the squad. One name attracting significant attention is Pedro Naressi, whose contract situation at Ludogorets has created an opportunity for rivals. Naressi would represent a notable acquisition for Levski, providing control and stability in central midfield while also remaining available to interested clubs in England due to his ESC eligibility status. Reports have also linked Levski with Lokomotiv Plovdiv striker Joel Zwarts as they look to reinforce attacking options ahead of a demanding campaign.

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In this piece I will update the circumstances of the 23 I identified last autumn, but also add some managers who are now of interest this summer.

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After three seasons without a title (their longest wait since Benfica won four consecutively from 13/14-16/17), FC Porto are the Champions of Portugal again.

In all honesty, with how they started the campaign, with a record-breaking first half of the season, it was never really much of a title race.

Porto spent 30 of the 34 gameweeks top of the pile, moving into first position in gameweek four, and didn’t surrender spot number one after that. It’s a hell of a long time to be the leader for, and The Dragons handled it extremely well; but what were the components that contributed to this title win?

Let’s start with the manager - Francisco Farioli. A year ago, Farioli had just departed Ajax, having let a nine-point lead slip with five games remaining. Porto fans would have been forgiven for having concerns about the latter stages of the season, but the young Italian manager ensured no dramatic end to this campaign, bringing the title back to Porto at his first attempt. One thing Farioli did bring with him from his Ajax days was a very strong defensive discipline, focused on formation organisation, and astute tactical flexibility.

A big contributor to this defensive record was shot stopper Diogo Costa (26), who finished the season with a save percentage of 80%. He and the Porto defense kept clean sheets in 19 games, conceding just 18 goals across the entire season. The Dragons scored considerably less goals (66) than both Sporting (89) and Benfica (74), and won 14 of their 28 wins by a one goal margin. It was a title built on solidity and nerve, rather than attacking flare. The injury of striker Samu (22) didn’t aid them in the goal scoring department, with their next top scorer on just eight goals - quite rare for a title winning team.

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I recently did an event all about the Asian market and how players from Asia can access the UK market.

The full video for that is now available to download and watch if you get in contact.

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PSV had the title won long before the end of the season with their 3rd 100+ goal season in a row to make it back-to-back-to-back Championships.

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The latter in particular have been in outstanding form, remaining unbeaten since facing FC Seoul at the end of April and suffering just two other defeats this season. It is not only the results catching attention either, with Gangwon FC turning heads through their high-intensity, energetic football. The 2024 runners-up have set the standard for pressing in the league, recording the lowest PPDA at 7.53, with FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors the next closest at 9.75 and 9.67 respectively.

The provincial club head into the break off the back of an impressive win over second-placed Ulsan HD FC and look like genuine dark horses for the second half of the season if they can maintain that momentum. Standouts Lee Gi-hyeok and Kim Dae-won have particularly impressed, with the former earning a surprise call-up to Hong Myung-bo’s 26-man Korea World Cup squad. The versatile 25-year-old received his first senior call-up since 2022, having earned just a single cap during the East Asian Football Championship.

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After a two-year hiatus, Club Brugge reclaimed the Jupiler Pro League title after overtaking Union Saint-Gilloise during the Championship Play-Offs. The defining moment came in a decisive 5-0 victory over Union at the Jan Breydel, where Hans Vanaken once again functioned as the central reference point within Club’s attacking structure, delivering in another high-leverage fixture as Brugge secured their 20th league crown.

How did they get here?

The title win has ultimately been built across two distinct tactical phases.

Under Nicky Hayen, Club Brugge began the season playing highly aggressive front-foot football built around verticality, attacking rotations and transitional pressure. At their peak, they were arguably the division’s most explosive attacking side, consistently overwhelming opponents through tempo and volume creation. However, structural instability increasingly became an issue towards the end of Hayen’s tenure. Defensive spacing deteriorated, rest defence became vulnerable during attacking phases and Brugge gradually lost territorial control in matches despite maintaining attacking output.

The decision to replace Hayen with Ivan Leko in December initially looked disruptive externally, particularly given Club’s league position at the time. Early performances under Leko lacked fluidity, with defeats against Charleroi and newly promoted RAAL La Louvière exposing transitional inconsistencies and adaptation issues within the squad. Since then, however, Brugge have evolved into a significantly more balanced side structurally and beyond two losses to their title rivals Union SG, have only dropped points twice during the period.

While the attacking aggression remains, Leko has reduced the defensive exposure that previously existed during possession phases. Brugge now attack with greater control behind the ball, allowing their transitional players to operate within more stable game states rather than constant end-to-end sequences.

Recruitment-wise, the squad construction has given them multiple attacking solutions depending on opponent profile. Christos Tzolis and Carlos Forbs provide elite transition threat and repeated depth running against high defensive lines, while Nicolo Tresoldi has increasingly developed into a reliable central reference capable of linking attacks and occupying central defenders physically. Vanaken continues to function as the team’s connective controller in advanced areas, particularly within settled possession against compact blocks.

Collectively, Brugge now look closer to a complete title-winning side rather than simply the division’s most talented attacking squad.

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Title winners

Who?

Galatasaray, by 3 points

Why?

By simply being the best, most dominant and expensively assembled side in the division. Held off their big rivals Fenerbahce comfortably all season before beating them with 4 games to go in a dominant 3-0 display.

Have many of the league’s most talented and highest paid players, most of whom are recognisable to even casual fans and are coached in a very simple way that gets the best out of them

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The 2025/26 PrvaLiga season brought major surprises, strong revivals, and serious disappointments.

While NK Celje celebrated another title and FC Koper emerged as a true contender, traditional giants like NK Maribor and NK Olimpija underperformed. Some individuals completely revived their careers, while others became symbols of failed planning and missed transfers.

Current league table:

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It has created a completely different challenge for Brazilian sides, who have had to balance state championships, league fixtures, and continental competitions all at the same time.

We are currently 15 games into the Brasileirão season and, obviously, as always, it’s shaping up to be quite an exciting campaign. As predicted at the start, Palmeiras and Flamengo are battling it out at the top, with their squad depth looking ridiculous compared to the rest of the league in Brazil.

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Around 30% of all ESC signings that were made last summer are now ready to convert to a full GBE for their clubs, but that leaves an awful lot of players who perhaps now require a Plan B in their current situation.

That Plan B can take many forms. There may be a route to selling or releasing a player, but that would be unlikely for many having only signed for the club, primarily as a young, development player, so perhaps a second chance in the first team, or perhaps a new or different loan spell away could be required.

Certainly, the player may not have been able to convert in the first twelve months of their deal, but they do still have time to do so in the next twelve months and hope should not be lost.

As with the previous article we will go through the leagues, starting from the top.

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We are back in action for all things Svensk Fotboll.

Six games in and the league, already, has given us a surprise leader in IK Sirius.

Traditional powers are circling though just behind in Malmö and a familiar lower-third already seems to be forming.

There is, however, a lot of football to be played over the coming months and I am sure twists, turns, and some eyebrows to be raised.

Below is a club-by-club guide of the current way of things in Swedens Allsvenskan with a brief scout report on a player from each team to keep very close eyes on.

NJUTA! 🇸🇪

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