The Premier League have made a decision that many in England have been crying out for, for a long time. They have ruled that next season, Premier League clubs must name at least eight players in a twenty-five man squad that are under twenty-one and have been trained in England or Wales for at least three years.
The fact that this initiative is to start from next season is in stark contrast to UEFA’s decision to gradually introduce a quota system for the Champions League over the next three years.
Unanimously
Representatives from the twenty Premier League clubs met last week to discuss the proposals. Following that meeting Premier League boss Richard Scudamore announced that the scheme had been unanimously supported. He said of the new quota system,
“It will encourage youth development and give them extra incentive to develop players, and to make a better return from their youth investment”.
All good, you might think. Well, the unanimous agreement from the clubs didn’t seem to include all that much support from three of the Premier Leagues most powerful and influential managers.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was particularly outspoken about the plan. This is maybe not surprising as Liverpool has the highest percentage of ’foreign’ players in the squad throughout the whole of Europe.
“It may now be difficult to maintain quality. The number of players is not the point, the quality is. The problem in England is that there is a big gap between the academies and the first team, the reserve league is not filling this gap. If a top side has to find eight players from the academy straight away, it may well be difficult. Academies do not produce too many in England, home-grown players tend to play in the lower divisions because they may not be good enough for the very top. People talk too much about the age of players and where they are from. They forget about quality. The Premier League is the best league in the world because of the quality, not because of where the players come from.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who is renowned for signing young players from overseas also feels that the plan could have a negative effect on the Premier League,
“I feel that when you want to see the best players in the best league in the world, you have to be open. I am not in favour of it, and I said that many times. To accept competition, and we live for competition, it is not to accept artificial rules.”
These new quota rules are being brought in alongside new financial regulations. The Premier League’s new financial rules are compulsory to clubs and punishment takes the form of sanctions as opposed to outright exclusion from competition.
Tax
Each club will have to provide its annual accounts to the Premier League by 1 March every year, and show that it does not have outstanding tax debts, or debts to other clubs.
Clubs will also have to prove they can fulfil all fixtures and contractual obligations, and meet all payments due during a season.
Denying
As well as denying clubs the right to acquire new players under a transfer ban, the Premier League can also prevent them improving contracts with current players.
Premier League boss Richard Scudamore said,
“It is absolutely essential that these clubs are run as viable, going concerns. We would far rather intervene than risk a club going into administration. The whole purpose of this is to protect the viability and sustainability of the clubs.”
With concern growing about the amount of debt in the Premier League and recent events surrounding the ‘tapping up’ of young players from overseas, these rules are surely coming in at the right time, even if Benitez and Wenger don’t like it.
Right
For once, I think that Scudamore and the Premier League may just have got this one right.
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