“Brexit means Brexit.” So says Theresa May, and now, 29 months after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, it is finally clear what her refrain actually means. It is just highly doubtful whether the prime minister has the votes to pass it through Parliament.



It is equally uncertain what Brexit will mean for the Premier League, arguably the nation’s most successful export—the most popular football league in the world, a source of 12,000 jobs, £3.3 billion per year in taxes for the government and, perhaps most important, a crucial source of soft power for the beleaguered UK. Before the referendum, Richard Scudamore, the Premier League’s executive chairman, announced his support for Remain. The Premier League feared that leaving the EU could damage the league’s global competitiveness and reduce the quality of its teams. Safely established as the most lucrative football league in the world, the Premier League had no need...