Sepp Blatter's Foreign Cap Proposal: The Effect on the Game

If FIFA President Sepp Blatter has his way, there would only be 10 foreign players taking part in club football matches next year. Six plus five—meaning simply that only six domestic players and five foreign players would be allowed to participate. 

It's a proposal that has the football world split in half with some claiming that it strengthens the domestic talent and nationalism while others suggesting that it would only diminish the quality of the leagues formed. Either way, the English Premiership, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and all other major European competitions would be in for a dramatic change if the proposal is approved.

Quick to point out the problems in England as well as other countries, Blatter explained the reasoning behind the decision to announce his controversial plan. 

"In England, you have just four teams, maybe five, who are there fighting for the title and qualification for European competitions. All the other clubs are simply playing not to get relegated. They are just sparring partners. That's not enough," Blatter told the Daily Mirror. 

"It's not only England. The situation is the same in France, Spain and Germany. A young player entering a big club has no more motivation that they can move through the ranks to play in the first team, because the manager will just go and buy players on the free market." 

For England, this also includes a cap on players from other countries in Britain such as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as they would be considered as "foreign imports". Undoubtedly the proposal itself would most likely affect England the most. It would prove to be a ground-breaking movement--especially for the "big four" in Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

While the majority of what Blatter had to say was true, there's no denying that the quality of nearly every league would be given a huge blow. Foreign players from all over the world have provided their respective clubs with fantastic football and have therefore enriched the leagues themselves. If we take a look at players like Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Portugal) and Kaka (AC Milan and Brazil), there's no question that both those fantastic players have added another dimension to the English and Italian game respectively. Taking the foreign players out of the game would only upset the whole business of football on a whole--not only in England but worldwide.

That's not the mention the countless amount of positions and jobs that would be lost for foreign players. For a lot of these players, the game of football is their only way out of the situation that they currently find themselves in. If the rule were to be implemented, players like Samuel Eto, Didier Drogba, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi would have never been given an opportunity to showcase their talent at the biggest stage. The next big prodigy playing somewhere in Asia, Africa, or South America would be left undiscovered if Blatter was successful.

However, Blatter is correct when talking about the diminishing domestic talent in Europe's top leagues. Fans are beginning to lose their identity with the club that they support. If the rule was to be put in place, it could produce a massive improvement in quality for all national teams. Undoubtedly, a stronger sense of unity amongst a nation would be developed among the people.

For some clubs, nearly their entire team is composed of foreign players and staff. Arsenal in the English Premiership would be a fantastic example. If were were to take a look at how the lineups for Saturday's FA Cup tilt between Arsenal and Manchester United, only five players (Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Justin Hoyte) were from an English background--with only one English player from Arsenal.

It's a big reason why none of Britain's teams were successful in their bid to take part in the 2008 European Championships. For example, during Steve McClaren's reign as manager of England, almost a quarter of England's squad had players that were not starting regularly for their respective clubs. This includes players such as Darren Bent (Tottenham), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermaine Defoe (Portsmouth), Joey Barton (Newcastle) and David Nugent (Portsmouth) who all were called up during McClaren's short-lived 18-month career with the Three Lions.

When new Italian manager Fabio Capello took charge in his first match as England manager against Switzerland, only ten players were announced from the so called "big four" with four playing their club football at Chelsea, four from Manchester United, two from Liverpool and none from Arsenal. 

Some are claiming the motive behind Blatter's proposal was purely for political gain. It's not secret that the FIFA president would love to force the European Union to make sport an exception to its employment laws. Blatter could use this as a driving motive in order to see the "six plus five" rule go in his favor.

While this proposal does address some of the problems found in the elite European leagues, enforcing such a drastic rule during this era of the game would be detrimental to the game. Considering the astronomical amounts of money that are being invested in the game, the cap on foreign players could potentially ruin clubs like the aforementioned Arsenal or even Liverpool. However, more importantly, the overall quality of play in all the major leagues would take a major hit.

To put in short, the proposals are as likely to be accepted as it is to see Chelsea manager Avram Grant smile or show any kind of emotion—which is never.