Make up of EFL Championship Squads.
2018/19
As we move into the transfer season proper, this is a list of the matchday team sheet makeup required for 2018/19.
As we get to know our squad, I’ll try to add which players qualify for Club Developed, Homegrown, Loans and Other.
Summary
A matchday team sheet must have:-
Club Developed Player – at least ONE
Homegrown Players – at least SEVEN (but Club Developed Player can be Homegrown as well)
Loan Players – no more that FIVE
Regular Players – up to ELEVEN as required
Club Consideration – registered players
Unlike the EPL, Championship clubs can register as many 1st team players as they like. They can also register as many youth players over 17 years old as they like on professional contracts.
Club Consideration – loan players
There are no restrictions in the EFL to the total number of loan players that a Championship club can register at any one time. (Note – the EPL limits clubs to a maximum of eight loan players in their maximum of 25 registered 1st team players)
In the same way, there are no restrictions on the number of International loans that a Championship club can register.
However, a Championship club cannot register more than 4 players on loan from the same club and it cannot register more than 2 players from the same club who were 24 years old or over on 30th June 2018.
So let’s look at these Match Day requirements
A Championship club can present up to 18 players on the match day team sheet.
The rules have got tighter again for next season and a coach must now ensure that he meets certain conditions or he will not be allowed to put a full 18 names on the sheet.
Club Developed Player
Every Championship club must now include one Club Developed Player on the team sheet.
A Club Developed Player is defined as a player who joined Leeds United before the start of the season where he turned 19 years old. He cannot count as a Club Developed Player unless he joined us by, or before, that date AND has got a year training by us under his belt.
For clarity, this would include an 18 year old lad joining us on a professional contract and spending one year training with the U18 or U23 squad. The next season he would qualify as a Club Developed Player for inclusion in the match team sheet.
Home Grown Players
Every Championship club must now put SEVEN Home Grown Players on the team sheet.
A Home Grown Player is someone who has spent at least three complete seasons registered with a football club affiliated to the FA or the Welsh FA before the season that he turns 22 years old.
This has nothing to do with nationality, race or anything remotely like that. It just covers players who have arrived in England or Wales from anywhere in the world and got themselves registered at a club. They must have been registered for three seasons but they can swap clubs and even have a season off providing they have three seasons registered before the season when they are 22 years old.
Of course, once a player has done his English or Welsh training to become a Home Grown Player then he will always be qualified as one. In this way many older players will be Home Grown, not just those in the youth system.
Combinations
If the Club Developed Player on the team sheet also qualifies as a Home Grown Player then the number of Home Grown Players is reduced to SIX plus the Club Developed Player.
Loan Player Restrictions
The coach can only pick up to FIVE players on a loan contract in his match day team sheet.
Of course, he can pick fewer.
Again, the Club may have registered many more loan players that form the pot that he selects from but the maximum he can pick is only FIVE – this includes a goalkeeper registered on an Emergency Loan Contract outside the normal transfer window.
Any Exceptions?
Yes, of course. Nothing from EFL regulations is simple.
Selling Club Developed Players
Leeds United could sell TWO Club Developed Players to another Championship club or an EPL club in the January transfer window and that would remove the requirement to name any Club Developed Players for the rest of the season.
Conclusion
Injuries and suspensions may mean a small squad cannot meet the regulations and we have to name fewer than seven substitutes. A large squad costs loads-a-money, tends to be lower quality and is not favoured by Marcelo Beilsa. U23 players will be very useful in this case.
Mike Thornton 26th June 2018