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AIFF technical committee recommends limiting foreign players to four per team
If ratified, the recommendation – in line with the regulations for participation in AFC club competitions – will come into effect “for all domestic league matches after the 2021 season onwards”, according to the AIFF press release.
The Shyam Thapa-headed technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday recommended restricting the number of foreign players per club to four, including one with nationality of an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member, the governing body stated in a press release.
If ratified, the recommendation – in line with the regulations for participation in AFC club competitions – will come into effect “for all domestic league matches after the 2021 season onwards”, according to the AIFF press release.
“However, if AFC changes this rule, the changes will be implemented for domestic league matches,” it added.
AFC’s 3+1 regulation – four foreign players, including one with nationality of an AFC member – was already being followed by the I-League until the 2016-17 season. In 2017, a rule change allowed I-League clubs to sign six foreign players, including two in the AFC quota. The maximum number of foreign players allowed during a game was increased to five. A year later, the rule was further tweaked to allow clubs to sign six foreign players of any nationality, while the matchday limit of five foreign players remained unchanged.
In the Indian Super League (ISL), which took over as India’s top-flight from the I-League last season, the number of foreign players has reduced over the years. In its first three seasons, ISL allowed a maximum of 11 foreign players, including a ‘marquee’ signing, with a limit of six foreign players on the pitch. From 2017-18 onwards, ISL limited foreign signings to a maximum of eight per team. It also reduced the limit of non-Indian players on the pitch to five.
In 2018, ISL further reduced the maximum number of foreign players allowed in a team’s squad to seven, with the on-pitch limit of five remaining unchanged.
