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FM12 - Spain, The Cotonou Agreement and Spanish Citizenship (Useful For Player Searches)

heathxxx

By heathxxx,
in Good Player & Team Guide

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heathxxx

heathxxx

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A couple of things that many people seem to be blissfully unaware of, but can be very beneficial to know when managing clubs in Spain.

Firstly, Spanish citizenship...

Any player from a South America who signs for a Spanish club, although classed as "foreign", is eligible for Spanish citizenship after just two years. This basically applies to any nations which were former colonies of Spain or Portugal (which itself was once ruled by Spain).

So for example, you could sign a player from Brazil or Argentina at the age of 18, then by the time he's 20, he could become a Spanish citizen and so no longer be classed as "foreign".

Secondly and probably less known amongst FM'ers, is the Cotonou Agreement. You can read the full details (if you're interested) by clicking the link.

Basically what this means in FM terms, is that with a Spanish club, you can sign players from all African, Caribbean and most Pacific nations, without them being classed as "foreign".

To see the list of Cotonou nations included in FM, navigate to the league table of any of the Spanish divisions, click the "Rules" tab, then at the bottom of the text, you'll see "Nations Treated As EU". Click the word "Cotonou" and you'll see all the nations involved.

Useful too, even though they're not EU member states, Russian and Turkish players aren't classed as "foreign" in Spain either.

A1SpainRules.png

A1Agreements.png

So what are the biggest benefits here? Simple really )

If you start a save game, load all players from Africa, Caribbean and Oceania, not only will you be able to sign them without any foreign player restrictions, when newgens start coming through, you'll steal a march on signing the very best ones ahead of other European nations that have tougher restrictions, such as Britain. :thup:

In addition, remember that in Liga BBVA you're only allowed to register three "foreign" players. In Liga Adelante, only two "foreign" players. Whilst in the Segunda B divisions, you're not allowed any "foreign" players.

Knowing where you can sign players from is very useful knowledge indeed, especially in the lower divisions. Indeed, whilst managing someone like Cádiz CF in the Segunda B4, you could practically have a squad full of African players if you wanted... none of them would be classed as "foreign".

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SpooneyDM

SpooneyDM

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I was aware of this IRL but never knew the specific details or countries, for this to be in the game is awesome now, so glad that in specific leagues the EU and non-EU issues arent as black and white as it used to be, adds some more depth to the experience. Nice thread.

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heathxxx

heathxxx

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not sure if this is deemed as "off topic", but when i pick a large data base I only get South Africa as an option for Africa.

They're the only playable African league in FM. Unless you create other leagues using the editor.

There are lots of African clubs in the database though. The easiest way to look at some of them, is go to World > Major Clubs > Africa ;)

As for the Cotonou Agreement, I think it's been in the last several releases of FM. Just think of all those wonderful players some of you have been missing out on, having not known! :p

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heathxxx

heathxxx

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As soon as they have Spanish nationality, they should also be available to play for the national side.

Of course, if they've already played for their "home" nation, it's irrelevant. Best obviously if they've not featured at any international level or declared their intent which nation they wish to play for.

But thinking positively, think Marcos Senna. Brazilian who took Spanish citizenship, then played for the national team.

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dustygator

dustygator

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If you start a save game, load all players from Africa, Caribbean and Oceania, not only will you be able to sign them without any foreign player restrictions, when newgens start coming through, you'll steal a march on signing the very best ones ahead of other European nations that have tougher restrictions, such as Britain. :thup:

Is this new in FM12 or something? I knew that having a league loaded would increase the number & quality of newgens and that having it set as read-only had a smaller effect. Didn't know that loading current players would increase newgens as well.

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samdiatmh

samdiatmh

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Is this new in FM12 or something? I knew that having a league loaded would increase the number & quality of newgens and that having it set as read-only had a smaller effect. Didn't know that loading current players would increase newgens as well.

loading all players from nations (or regions) has the same effect of loading the league, you'll get 8 newgens (as i did with Brazil) despite not even loading the league

also, isn't it spain where south americans only take 2 years to gain nationality?... quite the steal for WP purposes

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heathxxx

heathxxx

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In Spanish football, there are no work permit restrictions. Therefore you can sign anyone from any country.

The only restrictions there are however, is how many players deemed "foreign" you can register in your squad. Liga BBVA it's three, Liga Adelante it's two, whilst in the Segunda B it's none.

That doesn't stop you from signing players deemed to be "foreign" though, then loaning them out to other clubs. South American players are always deemed "foreign", so you should keep an eye on your squad registration limits and how many "foreign" players you already have. Likewise, when loaning a "foreign" player to another club, remember to check the league rules for their country or league division. No point sending someone to a club where they won't get registered for the squad and not play.

All South American players will gain citizenship in Spain (should they wish to of course) after two years. If you're going to use them, that's great... but if not, a loan deal to another Spanish club is preferable, because if they're loaned overseas, they won't gain days towards their citizenship application. They have to reside in Spain to do that.

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  • 2 weeks later...
slipknot67

slipknot67

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Can't thank you enough for creating this thread heathxxx. I very rarely mange in Spain and had never heard of the Cotonou nations agreement.

If it weren't for this thread I'd have taken one look at this guy and went no thanks, will take way too long to get Spanish nationality but after reading this thread I'm definately signing him for my R'Madrid team and trying to loan him out to a Spanish team with less than 3 foreign players for 2 seasons.

RobsonKisongeOverview_Attributes.png

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Bhoy!

Bhoy!

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Can't thank you enough for creating this thread heathxxx. I very rarely mange in Spain and had never heard of the Cotonou nations agreement.

If it weren't for this thread I'd have taken one look at this guy and went no thanks, will take way too long to get Spanish nationality but after reading this thread I'm definately signing him for my R'Madrid team and trying to loan him out to a Spanish team with less than 3 foreign players for 2 seasons.

RobsonKisongeOverview_Attributes.png

Why would you loan him out for two seasons? The point of the Cotonou agreement is that players from those nations are not treated as foreigners for registration purposes, so he wouldn't take away a foreigner's spot in your team.

The two year rule is for players from South America, who are treated as foreigners, but qualify for Spanish nationality within 2 years of residing in Spain.

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Studmarks

Studmarks

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A1Agreements.png

This may not matter much for practical purposes, but it is full of errors (the list of countries under various agreements in the image - not the OP). The EU consists of 27 countries, not including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (who are all EFTA countries). Andorra and San Marino are also not members. The European Economic Area consists of all the EU states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (Switzerland has not joined the EEA).

On the Cotonou list I know a bit less. Cuba is an ACP member, but I do not believe they have signed on to the Cotonou agreement. There could be other examples as well fora ll I know.

Like I said - for practical purposes this may not mean much. All the European countries mentioned should have signed agreements to allow free movement of labour, so there's obviously no problems signing a Swiss, Andorran or Icelandic player without going through the hassle of a work permit.

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heathxxx

heathxxx

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slipknot67 - If you're managing Real Madrid (or any Spanish team), getting him EU nationality doesn't matter... he won't be classed as "foreign" anyway.

Basically all the nations part of the Cotonou Agreement, are classed the same as EU citizens. :)

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slipknot67

slipknot67

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Why would you loan him out for two seasons? The point of the Cotonou agreement is that players from those nations are not treated as foreigners for registration purposes, so he wouldn't take away a foreigner's spot in your team.

The two year rule is for players from South America, who are treated as foreigners, but qualify for Spanish nationality within 2 years of residing in Spain.

slipknot67 - If you're managing Real Madrid (or any Spanish team), getting him EU nationality doesn't matter... he won't be classed as "foreign" anyway.

Basically all the nations part of the Cotonou Agreement, are classed the same as EU citizens. :)

Thanks for clearing that up, got a cold atm, so was a bit 'fuzzy headed' when I first read this thread.:o

Turns out I couldn't get the guy anyway as I've spent most of my transfer budget for this season and his team are asking more than even my R. Madrid board can afford. Hoping he doesn't get snapped up before next summers window when I can have another crack at landing him.

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slipknot67

slipknot67

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Can't thank you enough for creating this thread heathxxx. I very rarely mange in Spain and had never heard of the Cotonou nations agreement.

If it weren't for this thread I'd have taken one look at this guy and went no thanks, will take way too long to get Spanish nationality but after reading this thread I'm definately signing him for my R'Madrid team and trying to loan him out to a Spanish team with less than 3 foreign players for 2 seasons.

RobsonKisongeOverview_Attributes.png

I couldn't wait till the next summer transfer window to get him in the end, so sold a couple of back up players and splashed out £30 million to buy him in January, turned out money well spent as his goals helped me secure the title in my first season at R. Madrid.

RobsonKisongeHistory_CareerStats.png

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slipknot67

slipknot67

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Just think of the money you would have saved, if you'd snapped him up from the African club he started at.

That's why I always have scouts covering the African nations. ;)

I was managing Celtic in the SPL when he came into the game so funnily enough wp issues would probably have prevented me signing him back then.

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