Six Plus Five = One Happy Sepp Blatter
By: Daryl | February 6th, 2008
We’ve been hearing about the six plus five rule for a while now. If you’re not familiar, the proposed rule would mean every starting eleven in club football must feature at least six players eligible to play for the national team where that club is based (even if – like Kevin Nolan – they’re not quite good enough to do so.) The other five can be as foreign as they like, there just can’t be any more than five of them. We all know Sepp Blatter is a fan of the idea, but he’s planning to get serious in May and put the “6+5 Rule” to a vote. The FIFA Football Committee had a bit of a get together this week, where Blatter cleared his throat and gave this speech in favour of the idea:
Over the years and decades, by signing more and more foreign players, clubs have gradually lost their identity, first locally and regionally, and today even nationally as in some cases all players hail from abroad or even from a different continent. Young players lose their motivation in the same way as their perspectives dwindle in terms of one day getting a chance to play in their favourite club’s first team. Strong club competitions with huge prize money for the participating clubs have brought about a two-tier society in many countries as the gulf between the haves and have-nots has widened. Only two or three teams play for the league title and all others are fighting against relegation.
There’s a meeting of the FIFA Congress in Sydney, Australia on May 29th and 30th and Blatter plans to put the idea to a simple democratic vote. If the majority of voters at the FIFA Congress are in favour then the “6+5 rule” is go and could theoretically be in place by August. Cue a mad transfer scramble as Arsene Wenger tries to buy English players as good as Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Except that won’t happen because even if the rule passes there’ll undoubtedly be legal challenges coming from all directions. And even Sepp Blatter isn’t crazy enough to give clubs just one summer to adapt to six plus five. Is he?
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Category: World Football
Tags: 6+5, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, FIFA, Kolo Toure, Sepp Blatter, Six plus Five, World Football, World SoccerSubscribe
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Comments
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For some reason, this strikes me as being against European Union rules. Isn’t part of the deal with the EU that they have free movement of labor–and I haven’t heard any exceptions for football clubs.
Posted from
United States
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inter will never win another game. love it.
Posted from
United States -
Yes it is against EU law.
Posted from
Germany -
It’s funny how putting an expensive suit and tie on the deliverer of such ideas is somehow promoting the best interests of a sport while similar sentiments expressed by fans are racist.
http://www.theoffside.com/files/2008/02/lithuania-bienvenue.jpg
No doubt there is more than a touch of overt racism intended by the banner. However, is it really worse than the institutional racism put into practice by a rule like this. Keep all those people with funny sounding names and funny colored skins in their poor countries where they belong and earning only a tiny fraction of what their skills could earn them in a free market.Posted from
United States -
@Mike
No, the two are both heinous and while both have large groups of subconsciously-racist people defending these actions time and time again, they both arise from the same general hatred.
Xenophobia and racism, the personal is allowed to foster and be excused under the problems of the systemic institutional racism of systems that don’t have the player’s best interests at heart.
Kick Racism Out Of Football.
Posted from
United States -
Blatter is an idiot. And the 6+5 rule is dumb.
If teams want to “protect their identity” or whatever by playing local players, fine, that’s their choice. But don’t universally restrict the choices of others in the process.
Break down the barriers and borders, I say.
Posted from
United States -
i think this idea has as a purpose to make competitions more even.its not a secret that there is a huge gap in quality beetwen western european powerhouses and estern european clubs. limiting the number of foreign players will increase competition both in internal leagues and at european level,giving clubs like steaua bucharest a better shot to enter champions league and earn some cash.
Posted from
United States -
@Mike: “It’s funny how putting an expensive suit and tie on the deliverer of such ideas is somehow promoting the best interests of a sport while similar sentiments expressed by fans are racist.”
They aren’t similar sentiments. In fact, I don’t see how Blatter’s idea is racist. Impractical and in violation of EU labor laws, yes, but not racist.
Blatter’s reference to home grown players doesn’t mean that someone has to have roots in a country for several generations, which is what the Lithuanian banner was pretty much implying. What he wants is to make sure that clubs pay attention to their own academies (though his proclamations could be more eloquent and better thought out). This would of course affect the EPL the most since they rely on imported players more than any other league.
FYI, Blatter’s proposal would only help a country like France. Right now, the league can’t compete with the top three because of wage and tax restrictions and so can’t afford to keep their best players, who move abroad. But if those leagues are prevented from loading their rosters with the best French talent, France would be able to keep more of their players, which in turn would make them more competitive. French football itself won’t be affected since many players “funny sounding names” are in fact French citizens.
Posted from
United States -
I think Blatter’s proposal is indeed detrimental to the development of football worldwide. Players from nations with less competitive leagues should be given the opportunity of playing on bigger stages if they are good enough. It not only helps in their development from the exposure but also deminishes the large gap that exist in international football between world teams. It also is prejudice like someone stated earlier. Don’t restrict players from playing because of their ethnicity or nationality, that is indeed racist. What big leagues should do is implement programs, such as the Italians, to assist the development of local players. Bottom line is, if you’re good enough to play you should be allowed to, if you are you shouldn’t.
Posted from
United States -
I’d call this rule protectionist and not racist; like high import taxes that the US or the EU often like to impose, to protect their local more expensive goods. Racist usually implies thoughts of hatred, feelings of superiority etc. for me.
6 local players don’t need to be on the pitch all the time. The coaches can substitute them with foreign players.
My main problem with this rule is, that it’s going to cause a lot of problems when it comes to assembling a squad. Let’s say a team slides into an injury crisis and three local players who are starting XI regulars are injured for a longer time. Then you can’t replace them with foreign players who play the same position, unless you take out another foreigner from a different position and replace him with a local player etc…. That’s complete madness.
But FIFA would need to strike a deal with the EU (and possibly other countries) first anyway.
Posted from
Germany -
Jan, unless I misunderstood something, the 6+5 means that there MUST be 6 nationals on the pitch at any given time… So if you want to bring a non-national on the pitch, you have to take off a non-national.
I’m against this for several reasons. First of all, it wouldn’t really improve the level of national teams. Why has England “dropped” in level? Not so much because of a “lack” in youth programmes (Manchester’s “Fergie’s Fledgelings” brought 6 players that were bred at the club to win the Champion’s League in 1999), but rather because England has seen it’s poverty decrease dramatically since the 70s, and from the country with the most unemployment in Europe, it has become one of those with the lowest unemployment. There are a lot of players who are very talented when they are 13-15, but who prefer to not persue a career in football because of the risks of not having a good career (lower league football, injury…), and mainly, other nations have emerged as footballing powerhouses.
Inara’s comment on how it would “help” the French league, I’m cautious about. Why are there so many french kids that become professional footballers? Because there’s more “talent” in France? I doubt it. I think it’s rather because there’s little other solution for them than to become a professional footballer, just like kids in the ghettoes in the USA become pro basketballers because it’s the -only- thing they can become.
The 6+5 would mean that countries with social problems where football is seen as the only way “out” of poverty would be slightly advantaged. And even then, would Irana really be happy if Lyon had to ditch 5 of their non-nationals… Because Lyon has 10 non-nationals on rooster, so that doesn’t solve the problem.
The 6+5 is a populist move that doesn’t make anything better. England will not become any better than it was in the 80s (a.k.a. crap), back when English teams had 8 UK players + 3 internationals (Irish players were counted as internationals). France will go back “down” to the level they had in the 70s (a.k.a. not brilliant either) because of clubs not investing anymore in young players (there are already too many of them, should they all come back to Ligue 1…)…
If clubs want to have a “strong” identity, then they can do what Athletic Bilbao does : only sign players that are locals. Or they can do what most clubs have done : incorporate these foreigners as part of their identity. Cantona as a legend in Manchester, Di Stefano as a legend in Madrid, Platini as a legend in Turin… Where’s the “mix of identity” there?
Posted from
France -
I also am in favour of Blatter’s decision because the PL is one sided it always between Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool. And it really is boring seeing the same four in the frame to win it each year, furthermore there are a lot of young english players aged 16, 17 who never get a chance to play in the PL not because they are not good enough just because it is cheaper to produce a forigen player I think this will give youn players form acamdies or even semi-professional youngester to play in the PL and prove to the world, also many people want their country to win the world cup don’t you think so it is more likely this rule can help every country to produce there own Ronaldos and Ronneys and Adebayors and give everyone an equal chance. After all everyone wants the best in life so giving to young and english players a chance is good. Also i think football should be used to also help the poor and get rid of poverty afterall footballers earn alot more than what the average person earns in a year. HELP THE POOR HELP THE DEVELOPIN COUNTRIES HELP THE SOCIETY HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE.
Posted from
United Kingdom
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