NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
FIFA has opened negotiations to require all professional teams to field at least one home-grown young player throughout matches.
The FIFA Council decided late on Tuesday to try to have a formal plan within a year after global consultation with stakeholders.
The aim is to increase playing opportunities for young players brought up by clubs that typically rely on bought and imported talent.
FIFA said it is aiming for “a legislative obligation that senior club teams are obliged to always have at least one home-grown player from the U20 or U21 category on the pitch.”
Such a rule would be stricter than existing rules in domestic and international club competitions, including the Champions League, which require a quota of home-grown and club-trained players on each squad list.
These types of rules impose no obligation for selection in starting lineups.
Champions League rules require each team to have at least eight places reserved for “locally trained players” among the maximum 25 players in total.
A locally trained player is defined by Champions League organizer UEFA as someone who has been brought up by the club itself or at another club in the same country for at least three full seasons between the ages of 15 and 21.
Report from the Associated Press.
