A non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive ‘A’ team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, england football shirts and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. Thirty-three players have reached the 100-goal mark. In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favor of foreign players, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.