Blatter still fighting for 6+5 system

FIFA president Sepp Blatter still will push for his quota on foreign players on the pitch at the governing body's next congress on Sydney next week.

His plans are at odds with lawmakers who have stated that the plan violates free-movement laws.

Blatter has wanted a 6+5 rule that would leave six home-grown players on the pitch with up to five foreign nationals per club. He hopes to introduce the quota from 2010 with a minimum of four home players, going up to five in 2011 and the full six by 2012.

In the process, Blatter has alienated some. UEFA president Michel Platini has distanced himself from the proposal. The English Premier League has adamantly opposed the rule. Many lawmakers have said they won't back it.

UEFA has gone with the home-grown approach, something supported by many lawmakers. In it, clubs would have to raise their talent and let it grow through the ranks. But that talent can come from anywhere.

The only political support Blatter likely will receive is from areas that have watched local talent be tabbed for entities such as the Premier League. Also, some English lawmakers who have seen clubs in their areas lose out to rival clubs laden with foreign talent will throw their support to Blatter.

Premier League chief executive Peter Scudamore described it as an envy on the part of other leagues and clubs. Scudamore's league is the financial beacon for all football leages.

Part of that is based upon fielding some of the best talent in the world … from all over the world.

It's not just England. Italian Inter Milan fields a club buoyed by South American players.

"We will find it difficult because those that have good Italian players want to keep them and it is difficult to find Italians at a good enough level for Inter," coach Roberto Mancini said earlier this season.

Still, Blatter will press ahead, priming perhaps for a showdown.

"If the Congress says it does not want these measures then we would have to rewrite our statutes, because football would no longer be able to fulfill the aims of FIFA which include a role to develop the game everywhere," he said. "I am not convinced that the proposal is against EU law, because we are not placing any restrictions on the number of foreign players who sign contracts with the clubs, just the number who start each game.

"Of course it will eventually lead to a reduction in the number of foreign players signed because of the need to always have six players (in the starting line-up) who are eligible for the national team in that country, but this will come in step-by-step."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.