§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many professional association football players in British teams have been issued with work permits by the Overseas Labour Service; and if he will list the countries from which they came. [33463]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthBetween 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1997 the Overseas Labour Service issued 51 work permits to football clubs in the United Kingdom in respect of overseas footballers from 31 different countries outside the European Economic Area
Australia, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Israel, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Moldova, Namibia, Nigeria, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, St. Vincent, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago and USA.