Uefa sets foreign player limits

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Uefa has announced clubs competing in the Champions League and Uefa Cup will have to include four homegrown players in their 25-man squad from 2006.


Uefa president Lennart Johansson wants to restrict foreign players

Europe's governing body also wants to implement the plan in domestic leagues but that will have to be agreed by each national association.

Uefa then wants six homegrown players by 2007 and eight in 2008.

Of the eight, at least four must be trained by the club's own academy and the rest in the home country.

Uefa defines a club-trained player as one who has been registered for a minimum of three seasons with the club between the age of 15 and 21.

Of the 32 sides in last season's Champions League, five clubs would have not had enough homegrown players.

They are: Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and Ajax.

Uefa's 52 member associations will vote on whether the same rule should apply to domestic competitions at a Congress in Tallinn, Estonia in April.

There has already been strong opposition voiced by the Premier League and the Italian federation.



news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4233353.stm

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Sports lawyer Mike Townley believes it is unlikely Uefa will be able to implement its plans to limit the number of foreign players in teams.



He told BBC Sport: "These restrictions have not typically withstood the challenge legislation throws at it.

"It will be tough to enforce. Where sport constitutes an economic activity it's subject to laws in the same way as banking or insurance services are.

"And the free movement of labour laws must not be infringed upon."

He added: "Professional clubs operate on a profit-or-loss basis and many are publicly quoted companies.

"As such, they are treated no differently to banking services, which could not restrict the number of Italian workers they had in their marketing department, for instance."

"If what is being proposed is an attempt to deal at club level with the national make-up of the teams, I can not see the justification for it."


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