Saturday, May 31, 2008
FIFA, the world’s governing body for football (soccer), and the European Union are set to collide over the controversial 6+5 Rule.
The problem is that FIFA wants to limit the number of foreign players in the starting 11 to a maximum 5 players per side while the European Union allows free movement of workers making FIFA’s 6+5 Rule illegal within the European Union.
Despite the legal issue about the 6+5 Rule within the European Union, FIFA President Sepp Blatter presented the 6+5 Rule to FIFA Congress where the member national associations of FIFA would vote on examining the issue further.
The FA in England was quoted on their website saying, “At today’s meeting of the FIFA Congress in Sydney, The FA voted in favour of further exploration of the “6+5″ rule proposed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.” The FA further said, “The resolution, adopted overwhelmingly by the Congress, requested that the FIFA and UEFA Presidents work with key figures within the world of sport to examine how the proposal might work within the limits of the law.”
The FA, the national association for England, indicated that having more “high-quality English players” is an “absolute priority.”
A reservation of the FA is the legality of the 6+5 Rule but they “welcome further exploration of its legality.”
Spain and Real Madrid Goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, has also indicated to be in favour of FIFA’s 6+5 Rule stating, it would be “exceptional” for players developed for “Homegrown player.”
On May 8, the European Union voted against the 6+5 Rule and have indicated that they will take legal action against any national association within the European Union that introduces FIFA’s 6+5 Rule.
Depending if and how fast FIFA gets their way, the 6+5 rule can be implemented as soon as 2012 with smaller variations leading the way to 2012.