State of the Game: How UK's world football map has changed
- Published
Foreign footballers now appear in almost two thirds of minutes played in the Premier League - and here you can see exactly where they come from.
A BBC Sport study has calculated the total minutes played by each nationality in the English top flight, Championship and Scottish Premiership so far this season. We compared this with data from the whole of the 2007-8 season.
You can see just how things have changed on the world map of UK football by clicking on individual countries. The darker the colour the more minutes players from that country have played.
2013-14
Top countries
1. England32.26
2. France8.10
3. Spain6.27
4. Ireland4.77
5. Netherlands4.00
6. Belgium3.59
7. Scotland3.27
8. Wales3.17
9. Brazil2.76
10. Argentina2.09
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No data2007-08
Top countries
1. England35.43
2. Ireland6.03
3. France5.91
4. Spain3.20
5. Scotland3.01
6. USA2.89
7. Netherlands2.66
8. Wales2.52
9. Brazil2.37
10. N Ireland2.34
Premier League
2013-14
English players made up the highest percentage of minutes played in the Premier League at 32% of the total, with French players second and Spanish third.
The minutes played by players from Russia and Asia has also diminished in contrast to seven years ago, with Russia having no players playing in the English top flight.
Top countries
1. England32.26
2. France8.10
3. Spain6.27
4. Ireland4.77
5. Netherlands4.00
6. Belgium3.59
7. Scotland3.27
8. Wales3.17
9. Brazil2.76
10. Argentina2.09
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No data2007-08
In the 2007-08 season, English players once again made up the highest percentage (35%) of minutes played in the top tier.
Scotland remained in the top five and Northern Ireland in the top 10 in this season. Both have fallen in the 2013-14 figures.
Top countries
1. England35.43
2. Ireland6.03
3. France5.91
4. Spain3.20
5. Scotland3.01
6. USA2.89
7. Netherlands2.66
8. Wales2.52
9. Brazil2.37
10. N Ireland2.34
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No dataThe Championship
2013-14
England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland made up the top four most represented countries in terms of minutes played.
Jamaica were the next most represented team and even came above Northern Ireland.
Top countries
1. England55.44
2. Scotland8.72
3. Ireland8.34
4. Wales4.53
5. Jamaica2.41
6. France2.01
7. N Ireland1.82
8. Spain1.82
9. Italy1.46
10. USA1.10
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No data2007-08
Jamaica, Hungary and Nigeria made up the top 10 in the 2007-08 season in the Championship.
But England, Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were still five of the top six for minutes played.
Top countries
1. England48.37%
2. Ireland11.73%
3. Scotland8.50%
4. Jamaica3.79%
5. Wales3.69%
6. N Ireland3.01%
7. Hungary2.08%
8. Nigeria1.72%
9. France1.62%
10. Netherlands1.35%
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No dataScottish Premiership
2013-14
Scottish players delivered over half of their top-flight representation, with 57.2% of minutes played coming from the country.
Netherlands edged Wales out of the top five, while Australia, Switzerland and Nigeria were also in the top 10.
Top countries
1. Scotland57.19%
2. England16.41%
3. Ireland8.65%
4. N Ireland3.61%
5. Netherlands2.96%
6. Wales1.84%
7. Australia1.35%
8. Nigeria1.16%
9. Switzerland1.04%
10. France0.94%
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No data2007-08
Wales and Northern Ireland did not feature in the top 10 in this season.
Lithuania, Poland and Portugal made the top 10, while the top three remained Scotland, England and the Republic of Ireland.
Top countries
1. Scotland57.36%
2. England10.40%
3. Ireland6.39%
4. Spain2.05%
5. Netherlands2.01%
6. Lithuania1.81%
7. France1.76%
8. Australia1.44%
9. Poland1.39%
10. Portugal1.35%
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No dataOverall
2013-14
English players get the most minutes on average when the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership are added together.
Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales come second, third and fourth, while France, Spain and the Netherlands feature heavily.
Top countries
1. England40.30%
2. Scotland17.87%
3. Ireland7.40%
4. Wales3.55%
5. France3.49%
6. Spain2.67%
7. Netherlands2.05%
8. N Ireland1.97%
9. Jamaica1.26%
10. Belgium1.20%
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No data2007-08
France made it into the top five in terms of minutes played in this season when the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership are added together.
They are the only nation to oust England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales from the top six.
Top countries
1. England36.72%
2. Scotland16.26%
3. Ireland8.83%
4. France3.04%
5. Wales2.65%
6. N Ireland2.46%
7. Jamaica2.33%
8. Netherlands1.91%
9. Spain1.73%
10. Nigeria1.58%
Who plays the most football? Minutes played per nation (%)
More than 5.0% 1.0-5.0% 0.1%-0.9% Less than 0.1% No dataDownload the data
The figures are supplied by Opta and based on percentages of all minutes played per nation in the 2007/08 season, and the 2013-14 season to Oct 1, 2013.
• Figures amended at 13:00 BST due to Serbia being counted twice
- Attribution
- Published10 October 2013
- Attribution
- Published10 October 2013
- Attribution
- Published10 October 2013