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Football Manager 2017 will simulate the UK’s exit from the EU and as such give managers a new headache when it comes to building a winning squad.
“As far as I know this is the first time a computer game has tried to predict the future of a country,” Sports Interactive studio boss Miles Jacobson told The Telegraph.
The Brexit will play out in one of three core ways for managers.
First up would be a Soft Brexit, which would see the free movement of players just as we have today. The middle ground would see Footballers granted the same special exemptions as entertainers, making it easier for them to obtain a work permit than your Average Joe. There would be little impact on football. However, should the simulation opt for a “Hard Brexit” there would be major implications.
If a Hard Brexit rule set was already in place, “players such as N’Golo Kante and Dimitri Payet would not have been able to gain work permits to move to the Premier League,” explains Jacobson.
Such a dramatic change would have a huge impact on player transfer fees.
“There is also the option that sees us adopt a system like Italy’s, where there is a limit on the number of non-EU players in each squad. The limit of non-UK players that British clubs are allowed could range from anything as high as 17 to as low as four,” he explains.
“If you only had four non-UK players per squad, that’s going to make things difficult. All of a sudden Championship-quality players are moving into the Premier League to fill up slots. That could mean the overall quality drops, and that means the TV money goes down.
“Meanwhile, transfer fees go up: foreign players are worth more to British clubs because you need to make sure you make the most of those four slots, and the best British players become more valuable, and so more expensive, too.”
In the game managers will be notified that Brexit negotiations have begun at any point from 2-10 years into the career. A year later the effect of the change will be known to managers.
It’s a fascinating feature to be included in the game, but we’re unlikely to see just how accurate the simulation proves to be for many years.
Football Manager 2017 will launch November 4, with the beta set to go live today.
Source: The Telegraph
