Squad construction in the English Football League requires sides across the Championship, League One, and League Two to closely follow specific homegrown regulations. Throughout these three divisions, teams are required to register at least eight homegrown players in their general squad and must select a minimum of seven in their matchday squad for any league fixture. To qualify as homegrown under EFL rules, a footballer must have been registered with their current side, or any other English or Welsh club, for at least three seasons or 36 months before their 21st birthday, or before the end of the campaign in which they turn 21.
Because homegrown status depends entirely on where a footballer spent their youth career rather than the country they represent on the international stage, national team allegiances can often belie eligibility. A clear demonstration of this rule occurred in Watford's recent 2-0 victory against Charlton Athletic. In that fixture, defenders Mattie Pollock and Marc Bola were the only English players named in the Hornets' matchday squad. However, teammates Daniel Bachmann (Austria), Jordan Zemura (Zimbabwe), Hector Kyprianou (Cyprus), Stephy Mavididi (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Amin Nabizada (Afghanistan) all qualified as homegrown for Watford based on where they played their youth club football.
These squad quotas are strictly enforced for league games and do not apply to cup competitions, as the EFL does not mandate them for the FA Cup, EFL Cup, or EFL Trophy. Furthermore, the Premier League runs an entirely independent system governing its own squad lists and homegrown talent. Within the EFL framework, additional squad list distinctions exist: players under the age of 21 do not count toward registered squad list totals across all three leagues, and goalkeepers are completely omitted from squad lists in League One and League Two.
Club obligations also extend to developing their own internal talent once the summer transfer window closes and final squad lists are formally filed. Teams must name at least one club-developed player on their squad list or team sheet for every match. Failing to include a club-developed player results in a direct sanction on the bench, with the club forced to name one fewer substitute for the fixture. For Championship sides, this reduces the bench from nine substitutes to eight, while clubs competing in League One and League Two are restricted to six substitutes instead of seven.