UEFA increase 'homegrown' requirements

[public enemy]

UEFA increase 'homegrown' requirements

UEFA have announced that clubs in the Champions League and UEFA Cup will have to include up to eight 'homegrown' players in their 25-man squads.

European football's ruling body will also press ahead with plans for the measure to be adopted in domestic competitions - although that has yet to be agreed by the national associations.

The new rule for European competitions will be introduced from the 2006-07 season with clubs needing to include a minimum of four homegrown players in a squad. That number will be increased to six the following season and eight in 2008-09.

Of the eight, four will have had to be trained by the club's own academy and a further four trained within the same national association.

UEFA define 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: Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and Ajax.

The next step will see UEFA's 52 member associations vote at the Congress in Tallinn, Estonia in April whether the same rule should apply to domestic competitions.

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

[Liam]

Maybe the rule is stupid, but it was 4 UK teams (and Ajax) that couldn't have made these recommendations last year. It just shows the state of the young UK football scene if they can't even find 4 to 8 homegrown players in a team of 25.

[Cactus Drags]

I think it's a good thing. Perhaps top-flight English football will really be English football again.

[G-O-D]

Now....how will Arsenal be able to reach that quota?

This rule is a good thing tho. It is good for international football. And more local lads will be able to break into their clubs.

[Iain76er]

Yeah, it's definetely a good thing. It should make the national teams better as well (not greatly I know).

[Liam]

Yeah, it's definetely a good thing. It should make the national teams better as well (not greatly I know).

←

Not greatly to start off with, but it should allow for improvement over the years, as more UK players will get European experience.

[lazy_arse]

Good idea and I think it should be implemented in the domestic game as well as European competitions.

[Animal]

Maybe the rule is stupid, but it was 4 UK teams (and Ajax) that couldn't have made these recommendations last year. It just shows the state of the young UK football scene if they can't even find 4 to 8 homegrown players in a team of 25.

←

Edited February 3, 2005 by Evert

[supergrass]

Not that it'd really be that big a problem for Arsenal next season (with the inclusion of players like Cole, Hoyte... Fabregas will be of that requirement soon along with others) I don't agree with the ruling at all.

Come to think of it, a lot of youngsters at Arsenal who will eventually be able to register under the age 15-21 training ruling (if they can't now), like Cesc Fabregas, aren't actually English, so it wouldn't necessarily promote the youth of football in any one country as much as it might appear to.

It's a nice ideal and I think it'd be a good thing if teams did choose to register a lot of home grown players, but I don't think they should be forced to. It's almost telling the manager how to do his job, who to buy, who to play.

Edited February 3, 2005 by supergrass

[TMM]

Now....how will Arsenal be able to reach that quota?

This rule is a good thing tho. It is good for international football. And more local lads will be able to break into their clubs.

←

You were being sarcastic there right? You realise that Chelsea are in the same boat? Maybe even worse because they have no Chelsea born and bred players.

[The Quasi Juice]

Maybe the rule is stupid, but it was 4 UK teams (and Ajax) that couldn't have made these recommendations last year. It just shows the state of the young UK football scene if they can't even find 4 to 8 homegrown players in a team of 25.

←

how didn't Ajax made it, here is the list:

Rafael van der Vaart

Wesley Sneijder

Johnny Heitinga

Nigel de Jong

Daniel de Ridder

Ryan Babel

Steven Pienaar

Maarten Stekelenburg

Tom de Mul

edit: And they all played in the CL: last year, except for maybe De Mul

All Ajax homegrown, and I might forget a few!

←

[G-O-D]

You were being sarcastic there right? You realise that Chelsea are in the same boat? Maybe even worse because they have no Chelsea born and bred players.

←

[lazy_arse]

I just read something about the Arsenal chariman taking legal action against UEFA. Here it is from the BBC site:

Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein says Uefa's new ruling on homegrown players could be challenged legally.

Uefa has told clubs they must have four homegrown players in their squad by 2006 to enter European competitions.

But Dein fears the quality of the Premiership will suffer under the new ruling and also believes it "restricts the free movement of workers".

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "It's misguided and it will almost certainly now be challenged."

At a January meeting, Dein said the Premier League had unanimously opposed the Uefa ruling.

"Few Premier League squads would meet Uefa's current proposals and we think the quality of our league would suffer," he said.

"We probably have the most successful league in the world and we tamper with it at our peril.

"Although it has been proposed for Uefa competitions, there is a danger it could eventually be introduced to to all levels.

"We don't think they can do that."

Arsenal are one of five clubs from last season's Champions League who would not have had enough homegrown players in their squad under the new ruling.

The others are Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and Ajax.

[Liam]

Ajax were put down as one of the teams that didn't make it. I didn't say it, so who knows? It was on the bbc.co.uk site.

BTW, the players have to have been with the club for 3 or more years, so that might have been it.

[Animal]

All those players lI listed were at the club for 5 or more years

I think FDM is right and they meant PSV at the BBC

[lanky316]

Hold on, this is in no way an infringement of the european law because it isn't 8 English (or who ever players) just players from the clubs youth set up. With teams signing 13 year olds from abroad regularly that means that there are no illegalities over the issue since they can still travel around the EU.

[sean270674]

I believe this rule is a bunch of crap and will hopefully be overturned before it

is implelmented

[Cactus Drags]

I don't see what's so abd about it. Personally, I'd like to see a requirement of home-nationality players on a squad. The Premier League really isn't an English football league anymore.

[Guest Pirate Chasin' Booty]

Although it might be a nice idea to implement it, it'd never work in the premier league, unless of course we wanted to take something thats not broken and fix it with dodgy parts.

Why shoot themselves in the foot and ruin the product? leave it be.

[sirdavinator]

Seriously, this is utter crap. I can understand why Arsenal wants to appeal against this change, becuase as most of you can see, Arsene Wenger prefers to get international players, as compared to English ones. But the others? I dunno, I don't follow them that much.

Edited February 5, 2005 by ladydavinator