Juan Agudelo in "search" of a Club

Campbell got it in the Summer of 2013, yes. Why Arsenal sent him to Greece, I have no idea. I think they were told that Ryo wouldn't get the WP, so they just sent him to Feyenoord because that's what they were probably going to do anyway.

 

Where are the Virgin Islands?

A long way from the Isle of Man.....

 

Certainly doesn't help that there are no advantages for EU/UK citizens for working in the US either.

 

Why differentiate between UK and EU citizens? It's the same thing and that's the reason why the English FA can't stop any EU citizen from playing for an English club. It would violate EU law and the UK is a memberstate.

 

I just wanted to know more about the special work permit advantages that Ivory Coast citizens get in the EU, as feyenoordsoccerfan mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

Are we sure they even exist? A special deal between the EU and the Ivory Coast sounds unlikely to me. Perhaps there are unilateral or bilateral agreements or regulations (like Germany, which doesn't put any cap on Non- EU Players, or like Spain and Portugal who have agreements with Latin American countries)?

 

Ivory Coast is part of the Cotonou Agreement but that is about the EU helping economic development in Third World countries not free choice of workplace (quoting Wikipedia):

The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ('ACP countries'). It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, by 78 ACP countries (Cuba did not sign) and the then fifteen Member States of the European Union. It entered into force in 2003 and was subsequently revised in 2005 and 2010.
The Cotonou Agreement is aimed at the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty while contributing to sustainable development and to the gradual integration of ACP countries into the world economy. The revised Cotonou Agreement is also concerned with the fight against impunity and promotion of criminal justice through the International Criminal Court.

It seems that the FAs of some EU member countries with foreign player limits (Spain) have decided to not apply these limits to citizens from the Cotonou countries. That must be an individual decision by each FA and only for football players, though. Citizens from these countries are normally not allowed to freely move into the EU and work there.

 

The US & UK **can** sign treaties that allow ease of migration that does not involve EU rules. Much like the US has with Canada & Mexico & Singapore & Chile & Australia.

 

This is true for the US but I'm not so sure that's it's the case for the UK (or any other EU country) as anyone having free access to work in the the UK automatically also has free access to every other EU member state as well. This is from Wikipedia about free trade in the Commonwealth so it should apply to free movement too:

"Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, and its evolution as a member state of the European Union (EU) has meant that for practical purposes, the United Kingdom cannot independently enter into negotiations with Commonwealth states to establish a free trade agreement. Instead, the EU, as a representative of all its members, negotiates collectively."

Do you have any better information about this?

 

I can't recall an instance of the Cotonou agreement being used to circumvent UK work permit regulations..............in football.

However, it has been used in county cricket and rugby. You'll often hear a player in those sports being referred to as a "Kolpak" or a Kolpak player. That's in reference to the Kolpak ruling, which stated that citizens of countries which have signed agreements with the European Union, have the same right to freedom of work and movement within the EU as EU citizens.

So cricket players from South Africa, Zimbabwe, the West Indies, etc have used a combination of the Cotonou agreement and Kolpak ruling to gain access to the UK. Ruby players from Samoa, Fiji, etc. have used it as well.

I do think these regulations have changed a bit since ~2008, though. I haven't kept up. Maybe its harder today than it was earlier. I think the reading of the Cotonou agreement has changed somewhat..................

 

Trade in the EU is somewhat different from how they handle the movement of *non-EU* citizens. The UK can't restrict the movement of EU citizens at all (assuming the country has moved past the initial phase of limited movement), but they can establish rules that apply only to themselves as far as entry and movement of non-EU citizens.

Much of the contemporary British concern about immigration actually derives from the number of people who enter the UK quite legally. This type of immigration is governed by UK law and it is for Parliament to decide how many people to admit and in what circumstances.

If the US and the UK wanted to sign a separate treaty allowing US citizens to work in the UK without a visa, they could. That agreement would not extend to other EU countries, unless they simply wanted to honor that.
When I worked in the EU for a few months back in 2000, there was no universal system for someone with a specific country permanent work permit (equivalent of a Green Card) to work anywhere else in the EU. So that person had to qualify again in they moved within the EU. They have come up with a "Blue Card" system, but I have a hard time understanding if it is really a working system right now.

 

Yes, for individual qualified workers Germany and other EU countries hand out work permits called "Blue Card" for a limited amount of time. To get a Blue Card a person has to have an employment contract with a company and earn a minimum amout. After 18 months in Germany they can move on to work in any other EU country. Due to the aspect of free movement within the EU, I doubt that Germany (or any other EU country) can sign a contract to allow the citizens of a third country unconditional access. That would always impact all other EU members as well. A German company can hire a highly trained worker from India with a Blue Card. But I'm fairly certain that Germany can't make a contract with India to give all their citizens the same travelling and working rights that EU citizens have.

 

Right. Germany can make all kinds of agreements about non-EU immigration into their country, but can't give them broader rights in the rest of the EU without making the immigrants citizens.

 

All right, this is totally off-topic and I don't want to hijack this thread any further. So, my last comment on this:

Once Germany has allowed these people to enter the country there is no way to stop them moving into other EU countries in the Schengen agreement (the UK is not a part of this). Once someone has entered the Schengen territory he can travel everywhere without any border controlls. You can drive from Estonia to Portugal without ever showing your passport. Other Schengen countries would certainly not have to accept Germany signing any contracts that automatically expose them to uncontrolled immigration as well. I could be totally wrong on this but I suspect that EU member countries must have given up that kind of sovereignity. Anyway, that's enough thread derailment from me.

 

That's travel. Work authorization is a very different thing. EU countries have not given up their sovereignty in controlling non-EU citizens who can be present within their borders.

 

And less accessible than the Isla de Mujeres.

 

2 matches left...I wonder what is going to happen. I wouldnot mind him being loaned to my club at all!

 

A full season with a better Eredivisie team would be best case scenario for me. Not ready to see him rot away on Stoke's bench yet.

 

Just imagine it ........Agudelo under the wings of striker coach Roy Makaay at Feyenoord!

3 seasons ago we had a striker on loan from ManCity, John Guidetti, who no one ever heard of. He became nr 3 striker of the league, behind Dost and Bony, unfortunately after he had his scoring run stopped first by suspensions and at last by a viral infection that threatened his career. The last 2 seasons we had Graziano Pellè, who a few years ago played under van Gaal at AZ in the year they became champions of the league. He didnot score much then, but since he was signed by Feyenoord and taken care of by golden boot winner and recidivistic top scorer Roy Makaay he took the table by storm, only hindered by his multiple suspensions to take the top place from Finbogasson.

And ad to that Aron with San Marco

 

Agudelo is better centrally and closer to the goal when he doesn't have to take the defenders on forty yards away.

As to Cotonou, Agudelo won't qualify under it because Colombia isn't a member. Altidore can because Haiti is. Maurice Edu and Oguchi Onyewu can/could because Nigeria is. Over the long term, Agudelo can go to Spain and qualify for the Spanish passport after two (three?) years as a Colombian citizen.

 

where have you been dude?

 

he's BACK

 

One of his periodic time traveling trips, perhaps to the 1960's Soviet Union to observe their superior coaching techniques firsthand?

 

Stylistically and mentally, yeah, it would be great for him. But... ewww.

 

Getting back tattoos with John Anthony Brooks. Mine has a full size image of an old guy with a finger up his nose and that's because I want to look the same coming or going.

Well, it was nice visiting you, kind folks (and you too, Freisland). Stay well.