2025/26 WOMEN'S GBE POINTS BASED SYSTEM CRITERIA RELEASED
What rules will foreign recruitment in the Women's game have to abide by this summer?
I reviewed the women’s game GBE rules way back on 4th December 2024, but now the FA have produced an updated version of the rules for the forthcoming season.
These rules will come into place on the 1st June, and supercede the existing rules.
So, the question is, what has changed?
The Headlines
Not much change
The bandings remain the same, and all of the criteria that need to be hit to get the 24 GBE points required have also remained the same, with the same number of points attached to each of the different bands and minutes as well.
The recruitment teams in the WSL1 and WSL2 that have prepared for the window using the 24/25 criteria will probably feel a sense of relief at this.
This is a tacit admission perhaps by The FA that they are happy enough with how the recruitment is working in the women’s game at this stage. This is interesting because we are seeing more foreign recruitment than ever before in the history of the women’s game in the UK.
For a full review of the criteria as they stand, the article from December 4th is still available to read
GBE in the Women's Game
So far the content and exploration in the 12 Days of GBE has concentrated on the men’s game. However, Brexit was all-encompassing and also came through at a time in which the women’s game in the UK was growing at a historically fast rate.
Performance Manager and Director of Football clarification
As in the men’s game the FA have made it much clearer which members of staff might be considered as performance managers. This could help clubs who are building out their staff behind the scenes.
Clarification on unavailable for selection criteria
To close any potential loopholes in this system there has been clarity provided about whether or not a player being unavailable for selection whilst out on loan.
I’m not sure whether any club has been trying to claim that a player that is out on loan is unavailable for selection and therefore make it easier to extend their GBE but this adjustment makes certain that shouldn’t be a discussion point in future.
What does this mean for the women’s game?
This announcement came in the middle of my building a women’s transfer database akin to my men’s game database in England and Scotland, but the data up to last summer clearly exhibited a trend for increasing the amount of foreign transfers that were coming into the WSL in particular.
As was discussed back in December, the trends are all pointing one way. There is more transfer activity occurring in the WSL, more of it is being sourced from non-domestic markets, and more of it is costing a fee.
The development of the women’s game globally is driving a new market, and, as we saw with the move of Naomi Girma there are ever higher fees being paid for players. These sorts of moves are what will create a thriving transfer market, but developments in infrastructure have to be brought along to match this. How will this infrastructure be paid for?
The valuation of Chelsea's women’s team and the investment of Alexis Ohanian have been big sporting headlines in recent weeks, but, so, unfortunately, has been the decision by Blackburn Rovers to pull their team from WSL2 because of the proposed expense of playing at that level, and the lack of revenue generated by the team to help pay for it.
These two situations illustrate perfectly the difficulty of gauging where the women’s game is at in England, and how to progress.
I was fortunate enough to meet and engage in conversation with Romaney Pinnock, Bristol City’s Head of Women’s Football, at FTF13, and it was interesting to hear her take on the current situation and, from my perspective, how difficult they were finding it to recruit from overseas, which, I’m sure, is a similar viewpoint for many Championship (now WSL2) clubs ahead of the summer.
It is interesting that there hasn’t been a move made in the women’s game to have ESC. It is perhaps felt that the gates are open enough as it is without having a wider remit, even if it is only for a couple of squad places.
I certainly don’t envy the FA having to try and futureproof this guidance, but it will be interesting to see what moves are made in the WSL and WSL2 this summer.
London City Lionesses have been promoted in WSL and I suspect that, given their recruitment model, they will be looking abroad to improve their playing squad. West Ham have been plowing the under-utilised markets for years, Chelsea now have the spending power to match anyone in the world, Arsenal have improved credentials as Champions of Europe, so there is a lot to speculate on ahead of the summer.
My personal work on the women’s transfer database will soon be complete, and with clarity on the 25/26 rules, I am more than happy to talk to any recruitment teams who are looking to maximise their work in the GBE sphere.