FIFA Considers Requiring Clubs To Field One Homegrown Young Player In Games

FIFA has opened talks about requiring all professional teams to field at least one homegrown young player throughout games. The FIFA Council agreed late Tuesday to try to have a formal plan within a year after global consultation with stakeholders. The target is to increase playing opportunities for young players nurtured by clubs who typically rely on bought and imported talent. FIFA said it aims for “a regulatory obligation that senior club teams are obliged to always have at least one homegrown player from the Under-20 or Under-21 category on the field of play.” Such a rule would be stricter than existing rules in national and international club competitions, including the Champions League, that demand a quota of homegrown and club-trained players on every squad list. Those types of rules impose no obligation on selection in starting lineups. Champions League rules require that each squad should have at least eight places reserved for “locally trained players” among the maximum of 25 players overall. A locally trained player is defined by Champions League organizer UEFA as one nurtured 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. Reporting by The Associated Press.