5 June 2008
editorial
Lagos — THE decision of world football's governing body, FIFA, to vote in favour of plans to limit the number of foreign players that can feature for European professional teams during matches, has somehow struck many as absurd and akin to opening up the pandora's box of inequties, afflictions and uncertainties.
Rising from FIFA's 58th Congress in Sydney, Australia, last Friday, majority of national associations had voted in favour of President Sepp Blatter's '6 + 5 rule' that would progressively limit the number of foreign players fielded in European professional football clubs.
By Blatter's plans, no UEFA-member club will go to football engagements with not less than six players who are eligible to play for the (host) national teams.
By a vote of 155 in favour, with 40 abstaining, and five voting against, FIFA's executive committee supported Blatter's proposal on the grounds that such a restriction would 'safeguard' the national identity of clubs and European national teams. According to Blatter, the '6 + 5 rule' would progressively be operational by 2010.
All these propositions make patriotic sense for Europe's clubs and national teams that have been sold the dummy that foreign players are the bane of Europe's football development.
Happily and thoughtfully, the European Union (EU) has preliminarily poured cold water on Blatter's proposals.
According to the EU, the FIFA executive committee's decision goes against the articles proclaiming the non-discrimination against professional soccer players who are technically workers. The proposals do not comply with the principles of free movement of workers which allow professional football players to move across the EU member nations.
In 1995, for example, the European Court of Justice had ruled that limits on foreign players from other EU nations, were illegal.
But, beyond all these, other non-legal, but equally weighty issues, are thrown up for condemnation in Sepp Blatter's discriminatory proposals.
Supporters have fingered the non-qualification of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland national teams for this weekend's Euro 2008 football competition, as evidence of decline inspite of the fact that the English Premiership happens to be the strongest, most-watched and richest league in the world today.
But critics have pointed out that most Premiership clubs are built on values, merit and skills and not on passports. And that, you cannot tell a good professional player to sit on the side-lines on account of his origin.
On face value, it might appear that foreign (high-priced) players deny local European talents of the opportunity to excel in Europe's football as alleged by supporters of Blatter. But a closer scrutiny reveals a rather xenophobic mental disposition that disregards the contribution of foreign talents in not just European fooball, but in world sports in general.
Take the yearly Wimbledom Tennis competition as example: how many British nationals win them just because they are held in England yearly? The same question extends to boxing and other occupations where inate skills over-compensates above nationality and passports. What is the frequency of European success and excellence in these fields?
Sepp Blatter's proposals are no more xenophopic than those of far-right extremists who fantasize that, like morality, any body or organisation, can legislate on sporting excellence.
We suggest that, since foreigners who thrive in European football clubs do so on merit, UEFA and its FIFA backers, had better look more closely at their local organisations, rather than point accusing fingers at foreigners.
FIFA has been known, under Blatter, to be seeking and working to develop the game of football around the globe whose rational is to bring people together. It is therefore curious that Blatter, who has publicly vowed to kick racism and discrimination out of football is the very president of FIFA to preside over discrimination in the hiring of professional footballers.
Least we forget, the English Premier League achieved its status as a top league because of the variety of characters, cultures, nationalities that week in and week out entertain fans. And the lucrative television deals which fuel English Premiership is directly related to her foreign talents - managers and players, which the league attracts. Nobody who is dispassionate will dismiss the French 1998 World Cup victory made up of nationals from around the globe, as an accident.
Blatter's campaign does not only run counter to common sense and natural law, it also reveals the latent racism of a FIFA president who had all along pretended to be fighting racism in football.
Besides, as is consistent with the contemporary practice of expediency, the foreign restrictions would end up forcing (foreign) players to take up other nationalities just to be able to play football in Europe.
By limiting the opportunities for foreigners to take part in E.U. football leagues, many developing footballing nations and regions would be denied the valuable technical skills and experience which their nationals gain by playing in high, competitive leagues in European.
The foreigners who feature in the leagues as professionals serve as role-models to their compatriots. They add glamour and flavour to world football. By limiting their numbers in Europe, FIFA would only have succeeded in discouraging others who might aspire to these global stars' stature.
The African, Asiatic and Oceanic football associations (CAF and CONCAF) must co-operate and work against this economic predation prescribed by Blatter.
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