By Andrew Warshaw
April 30 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revisited the home-grown player debate by arguing that too few are given a chance to prove themselves because of the foreign invasion.
Blatter still believes the so-called ‘6 plus 5’ quota system idea, ditched by FIFA four years ago after the European Commission ruled it contravened freedom of movement, still had merit and could at some stage be implemented.
The subject of quotas is one that is still being fiercely debated across the industry as more and more clubs fill their squads either with expensive imports or bargain buys. Foreign professionals form the majority of players in many top-flight leagues, not least England and Italy, and Blatter believes national teams have to be protected far more.
“A glance at the leading leagues in Europe leaves no room for misiniterpetation,” Blatter writes in his column for FIFA Weekly. Too many overseas players, he says, “makes life hard for home-grown players.
“It is gone too far when up-and-coming hopefuls no longer have a chance to prove themselves because foreign employees take their places in the team.”
Blatter believes employing 6-plus-5, whereby six players in a starting lineup must be eligible for the national team in the country concerned, “would solve three problems at a stroke.”
“It would improve the balance between club and national team football, preserve the clubs’ national identity and increase the incentive for clubs to make more of their own youth products.
“Unfortunately the idea foundered in EU employment law…However we have not heard the last word on this subject. An Institute for European Affairs expert opinion concludes that a ‘quota agreement’ along the lines of the ‘6-plus-5 rule’ is compatible with the law. It is therefore not too late to seriously revisit this idea.”
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