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Premier League doesn't like Blatter's quota plan
England - 09 October, 2007
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Among the first to refute Sepp Blatter's idea on home-grown talent is the English Premier League.
The FIFA president had suggested that there be a restriction on foreign player numbers for clubs, looking at five as a reasonable number. That goes against EU employment law, something Blatter acknowledges.
But the Premier League said there is home-grown talent. Those coming up from academies, however, just might not be English.
Call it club-grown talent.
"Clubs are making huge investments in their academies," Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said. "Academy players are coming through at first-team level and national-team level. They have to be at the requisite standard to get into the first team.
"It's better to have quality youngsters coming through than being forced to play players who quite frankly aren't up to playing Premier League level or even national level."
FIFA and the International Olympic Committee have been chafing at EU intervention in sport, and have said governing bodies need to do the most to rule their sport. The EU has jumped in and said that quotas cannot be imposed, or it violates employment law.
Arsenal is one club with a high number of non-English players. Manager Arsene Wenger said there is not an intentional freeze out of English players, but that is the way it works.
He also believes a quota would harm the Premier League irreparably.
"That would kill the Premier League," Wenger said. "It would certainly no longer be the best league in the world. I would not be happy if somebody told me that I have to say to a player: 'Sorry, you have the ability to play but you weren't born in the right place'."
Wenger also said it would hurt identities of certain clubs.
"A club's identity is linked to values, not where you come from," he said. "Personally, I try my best to represent Arsenal values even though I wasn't born in London.
"Do you really believe that if I regularly picked five average English players, England would win the World Cup?"
The FIFA president had suggested that there be a restriction on foreign player numbers for clubs, looking at five as a reasonable number. That goes against EU employment law, something Blatter acknowledges.
But the Premier League said there is home-grown talent. Those coming up from academies, however, just might not be English.
Call it club-grown talent.
"Clubs are making huge investments in their academies," Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said. "Academy players are coming through at first-team level and national-team level. They have to be at the requisite standard to get into the first team.
"It's better to have quality youngsters coming through than being forced to play players who quite frankly aren't up to playing Premier League level or even national level."
FIFA and the International Olympic Committee have been chafing at EU intervention in sport, and have said governing bodies need to do the most to rule their sport. The EU has jumped in and said that quotas cannot be imposed, or it violates employment law.
Arsenal is one club with a high number of non-English players. Manager Arsene Wenger said there is not an intentional freeze out of English players, but that is the way it works.
He also believes a quota would harm the Premier League irreparably.
"That would kill the Premier League," Wenger said. "It would certainly no longer be the best league in the world. I would not be happy if somebody told me that I have to say to a player: 'Sorry, you have the ability to play but you weren't born in the right place'."
Wenger also said it would hurt identities of certain clubs.
"A club's identity is linked to values, not where you come from," he said. "Personally, I try my best to represent Arsenal values even though I wasn't born in London.
"Do you really believe that if I regularly picked five average English players, England would win the World Cup?"
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