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GBE points calculator
Built directly on the FA's 2026/27 criteria, effective 15 June 2026. Every points line cites the table and paragraph it came from, so you can check the working against the source document.
15 points required for an automatic grant
10 points falls in the 10–14 range. A club can request an Exceptions Panel, but it must evidence that exceptional circumstances — injury, suspension, paternity leave, illness, international duty, bereavement or family crisis — prevented the player reaching 15. The panel costs £5,000 plus VAT and is genuinely discretionary.
5 points short of an automatic grant.
Ruleset 2026/27 · effective 15 June 2026 · source document
An estimate, not a decision. Only The FA can grant a Governing Body Endorsement. Not affiliated with The Football Association. Not immigration or legal advice.
The FA will consider Injury, A period of paternity leave, Serious illness or other legitimate medical reasons, Suspension, International duty, Bereavement, Family crisis. A panel costs £5,000 plus VAT, and the club must evidence that one of those circumstances cost the missing points.
Where the points come from
Ranked by contribution. Every line cites the FA table and paragraph it derives from.
Awarded / max
- Table 6, para 45
Current club's league quality
EFL Championship is a Band 2 league.
10 / 10
- Table 1, para 34
International appearances
No senior competitive international appearances in the reference period.
0 / 2
- Table 2, paras 35–37
Domestic league minutes
0% of available minutes is below the 30% floor, which scores nothing in any band.
0 / 10
- Table 3, para 38
Continental minutes
No continental competition minutes in the reference period.
0 / 0
- Table 4, paras 40–41
Last club's final league position
Mid-table in a Band 2 league.
0 / 5
- Table 5, paras 42–44
Last club's continental progression
No continental competition to progress in.
0 / 0
Total
10 / 15
Work out whether the panel is winnable
A panel costs £5,000 plus VAT and the club must evidence that something outside his control cost him those points. Before anyone commits to that, get the breakdown showing exactly which criteria fell short and what evidence the FA will consider.
What the panel considersNeed it branded, with the band comparison and the routes written out? The full report is £15.
The player's record
Change anything below and the assessment above updates immediately. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent anywhere — the calculation runs entirely in your browser.
Table 1
The auto pass
Check this first. A player who featured in enough of his national association's competitive matches over the reference period is endorsed without the points tables being applied at all.
Derived directly from Table 1. Worth noting because several published explainers give the 21–30 band as 50% — the table awards 10 points at that share, not an automatic pass. The reference period is 24 months, or 12 for a youth player.
| Aggregated FIFA ranking | Share needed |
|---|---|
| 1–10 | 30% |
| 11–20 | 40% |
| 21–30 | 60% |
| 31–50 | 70% |
| 51 or below | No auto pass |
Appendix 1
Section II
If he falls short: ESC places
Clubs hold a small quota of Elite Significant Contribution places for players who do not meet the criteria at all. The quota is earned — it depends on the share of minutes the club gave to England-qualified players.
| Weighted EQP minutes | Premier League | Championship | League One | League Two |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35% or more | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 30–34% | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 25–29% | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| 20–24% | 1 | 1 | — | — |
Below 20% EQP minutes, no ESC places are available at any level.
Common questions
- What is a GBE?
- The FA's confirmation that a player meets the required standard. It is not the visa itself. The sequence is: the FA grants the endorsement, the club assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship, and the player then applies under the Home Office International Sportsperson route. A player can be registered before the process completes, but cannot play, train or carry out any employment duties until it does. UK and Irish players, and anyone with settled or pre-settled status, never need one.
- How many points does a player need?
- 15 points earns an automatic grant. A player scoring between 10 and 14 can be taken to an Exceptions Panel, but only if the club can evidence that exceptional circumstances prevented him reaching 15. Below 10, the only route left is an ESC place.
- What is an auto pass?
- A player who featured in a high enough share of his national association's competitive matches over the last 24 months passes automatically, without the points tables being applied at all. The threshold depends on the aggregated FIFA ranking: 30% for a top-10 nation, 40% for 11–20, 60% for 21–30 and 70% for 31–50. For nations ranked 51 or below there is no auto pass available at any share.
- Why does the league band matter so much?
- The band drives three separate criteria: domestic league minutes, the last club's final league position, and current club league quality. A player in a Band 1 league starts with 12 points for league quality alone before a single minute is counted. In Band 6 that same criterion is worth 2.
- Is this calculator official?
- No. Backroom is independent and has no affiliation with The Football Association. The calculator implements the FA's published criteria exactly as written, and cites the table and paragraph behind every number, but only The FA can grant a GBE. Treat the result as an estimate for planning, not a decision.
- What does an application cost?
- The FA charges £500 plus VAT per application. An Exceptions Panel costs a further £5,000 plus VAT and must be paid before the panel will consider the case.
The five ways a GBE check goes wrong
One email, straight away, with the mistakes that cost clubs a signing: dual nationality missed, last season's bands used, minutes counted instead of shared, the loan rule ignored, a panel treated as a plan. After that, only when the FA moves the bands.
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