The homegrown rule that will cost some Spurs players a place in the Champions League
Published on Wednesday, 23 July 2025 at 5:27 pm
Tottenham Hotspur’s return to Europe’s elite competition, the UEFA Champions League, brings with it not just the thrill of continental nights but also a complex administrative puzzle for manager Thomas Frank and his coaching staff. While the focus is often on summer signings and tactical preparations, a significant hurdle looms in the form of UEFA’s stringent squad registration rules. These regulations dictate that a substantial number of first-team players will inevitably miss out on the club’s prestigious European journey, a harsh reality set to impact at least nine individuals within the Spurs ranks.
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At the heart of this predicament lies UEFA’s ‘A List’ squad regulationswhich cap the total number of registered players at 25. Cruciallywithin this 25-man quotaa minimum of eight players must be ‘homegrown’. This homegrown category is further split: at least four must be ‘club-trained’ – meaning they spent three seasons at the club between the ages of 15 and 21 – and the remaining four must be ‘association-trained’having spent three seasons at any club within the same national association (in this caseEngland) between the ages of 15 and 21. Players under the age of 21regardless of nationality or trainingcan be registered on the ‘B List’ and do not count towards the 25-player limitoffering some flexibility but not enough to mitigate the core challenge for a
Source: theathleticuk
