Closed petition Allow children whose parents are legally in UK to work as sports professionals

Children with permission as dependents of parents who are legally in the UK on a work route, or who have settled in the UK on such a route, cannot be employed as a professional sportsperson unless they are a dependant of a person with UK ancestry.

More details

A child in this situation, good at football, could be discovered by a top UK professional football club but be forbidden to sign with or play for them.

I urge the government to recognise and address the injustice faced by children under this policy. I think it is discriminatory, harmful, and must be abolished to ensure fairness and equality for all children.

I believe allowing a minor to sign with a professional football club is not just employment but an essential educational opportunity that fosters growth, discipline, and excellence.

This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months

399 signatures

Progress of the petition towards its next target: 399 of 10,000 signatures required to get a government response

Show on a map the geographical breakdown of signatures by constituency

10,000 signatures required to get a government response

Date closed 5 August 2025
Get petition data (json format)

About petition data

The data shows the number of people who have signed the petition by country as well as in the constituency of each Member of Parliament. This data is available for all petitions on the site. It is not a list of people who have signed the petition. The only name that is shared on the site is that of the petition creator.