Carlo Ancelotti, Ray Wilkins and club secretary David Barnard were at offices in Wembley Stadium on Thursday. It was a fruitful visit because a day later the following was announced:
'Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce we have completed the signing of Brazilian international Ramires from Benfica on a four-year contract.
'The midfielder was granted a work permit on Thursday and finalized his medical in London on Friday afternoon.'
The Chelsea delegation had been present at a panel which granted Ramires that permit but a panel is not involved in all permits, nor are work permits required for all non-British players brought in by the club.
Work permits are not a football-specific regulation. They are part of the rules governing all workers and are operated by the UK Border Agency.
As a member state of the European Union, workers (including professional footballers) from all EU countries (and the other nations that make up the European Economic Area) can ply their trade in the UK without the need for a permit.
For Ramires, as a South American, the rules are different, as they are for Russian nationals, as they are for Africans etc. A permit must be assigned before he can pull on a blue shirt and take to the Stamford Bridge pitch for real match action.
So who gets given the vital piece of paper and who doesn't? It is all about quality.
Incoming non-EU players must be of sufficient standard to make a significant contribution to the football of the country. To be considered good enough to do that, the authorities in consultation with various football bodies agreed a set of criteria.
The player must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches he was available for selection, during the two years preceding the application for a permit. Injury and suspension is taken into consideration.
The player's country must be at or above 70th place in the official Fifa World Rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of application.
Due to that second stipulation you might play every match for Canada, for example, but you would not initially be given a permit. Canada currently sit 101st in the Fifa Rankings. That is not the end of it though, as it wasn't for Ramires and Chelsea despite our new midfielder not reaching the 75 per cent international appearance mark.
The next step is the previously-mentioned panel which includes representatives of football governing bodies and independent experts. It considers whether the player is of the highest calibre and whether the player is able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England. A majority positive vote is required to approve a permit application.
If our theoretical Canadian is one of his nation's finest then he may well still gain access to England's leagues.
There have been changes to procedure down the years. At one time the salary the player was commanding affected the granting of a permit and a new application was needed each year.
The late Tony Banks, Chelsea fan and then Minister for Sport was involved in the announcement of the current criteria for football in 1999.
And speaking English is now a consideration due to changes to the national regulations across all areas of work in 2008.
There is now a need to demonstrate competency in the language to obtain a permit for the length of the player's contract (up to three years). Should that not be possible then the permit is initially for 12 months only with competency in English needed at the end of that time. Transfer is then made to the full-length permit.
This is a process Yury Zhirkov has undergone and been successful and Ramires will come to in time.
Renewal at the end of a permit period is possible if the original criteria are still met. Should a player's international appearances have dropped below the required 75 per cent in that time then a panel hearing is available.
Football may be involved in setting down and operating the work permit system for the sport but permits are more a government than a football requirement. Each nation will decide its rules. There is not standardization across the international game.
The possibility is there for a foreign player to have spent years at a club in another EU country, yet be unable to transfer to England and play in our league.
'Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce we have completed the signing of Brazilian international Ramires from Benfica on a four-year contract.
'The midfielder was granted a work permit on Thursday and finalized his medical in London on Friday afternoon.'
The Chelsea delegation had been present at a panel which granted Ramires that permit but a panel is not involved in all permits, nor are work permits required for all non-British players brought in by the club.
Work permits are not a football-specific regulation. They are part of the rules governing all workers and are operated by the UK Border Agency.
As a member state of the European Union, workers (including professional footballers) from all EU countries (and the other nations that make up the European Economic Area) can ply their trade in the UK without the need for a permit.
For Ramires, as a South American, the rules are different, as they are for Russian nationals, as they are for Africans etc. A permit must be assigned before he can pull on a blue shirt and take to the Stamford Bridge pitch for real match action.
So who gets given the vital piece of paper and who doesn't? It is all about quality.
Incoming non-EU players must be of sufficient standard to make a significant contribution to the football of the country. To be considered good enough to do that, the authorities in consultation with various football bodies agreed a set of criteria.
The player must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches he was available for selection, during the two years preceding the application for a permit. Injury and suspension is taken into consideration.
The player's country must be at or above 70th place in the official Fifa World Rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of application.
Due to that second stipulation you might play every match for Canada, for example, but you would not initially be given a permit. Canada currently sit 101st in the Fifa Rankings. That is not the end of it though, as it wasn't for Ramires and Chelsea despite our new midfielder not reaching the 75 per cent international appearance mark.
The next step is the previously-mentioned panel which includes representatives of football governing bodies and independent experts. It considers whether the player is of the highest calibre and whether the player is able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England. A majority positive vote is required to approve a permit application.
If our theoretical Canadian is one of his nation's finest then he may well still gain access to England's leagues.
There have been changes to procedure down the years. At one time the salary the player was commanding affected the granting of a permit and a new application was needed each year.
The late Tony Banks, Chelsea fan and then Minister for Sport was involved in the announcement of the current criteria for football in 1999.
And speaking English is now a consideration due to changes to the national regulations across all areas of work in 2008.
There is now a need to demonstrate competency in the language to obtain a permit for the length of the player's contract (up to three years). Should that not be possible then the permit is initially for 12 months only with competency in English needed at the end of that time. Transfer is then made to the full-length permit.
This is a process Yury Zhirkov has undergone and been successful and Ramires will come to in time.
Renewal at the end of a permit period is possible if the original criteria are still met. Should a player's international appearances have dropped below the required 75 per cent in that time then a panel hearing is available.
Football may be involved in setting down and operating the work permit system for the sport but permits are more a government than a football requirement. Each nation will decide its rules. There is not standardization across the international game.
The possibility is there for a foreign player to have spent years at a club in another EU country, yet be unable to transfer to England and play in our league.
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