A right to welcome footballers from a distance (4)
I believe the answer is:
afar
'from a distance' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a right to welcome footballers' is the wordplay.
'a right' becomes 'ar' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to welcome' is an insertion indicator (in sense of 'inviting in').
'footballers' becomes 'fa' (Football Association abbreviation).
'ar' placed around 'fa' is 'AFAR'.
(Other definitions for afar that I've seen before include "A long way away" , "(From/at) a great distance" , "Inhabitant of Ethiopia" , "Many a mile" , "Distant, not near" .)