By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 27 – The Polish Football Association (PZPN) has decided that clubs playing in the Esktraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s football league, will be allowed to include a maximum of three players from outside of the European Union per squad at any time of the match. The regulation will come into force in the 2015-2016 season.
The PZPN said that it invited the 16 clubs playing in the Ekstraklasa to take part in a consultation of the designed regulation.
“Nine clubs have submitted a response,” the association said in a statement. “Most of them responded positively to the changes concerning the regulations for players from outside of the European Union. Four clubs did not submit any modifications to the [regulation], while two clubs said that they were against it.”
The regulation will also apply to the matches of the Cup of Poland. Beginning with the 2016-2017 season, the limit will be further decreased to two non-EU players per team. For all the remaining Polish football leagues, the limit will be set at one non-EU player per team.
The Esktraklasa said that the new regulation is aimed to stimulate the development of Polish football.
In the 2013-2014 season, 44 players from outside of the European Union are playing for clubs competing in the Esktraklasa, according to figures released by the league. This represents less than 10% of the 468 players currently registered at clubs.
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