SAFA wants foreign player quota reviewed

Johannesburg - South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has appealed to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to review the contentious foreign player quota rule.

Currently, clubs can register a maximum of five foreign players in a season and field any number of their choosing.

Wider pool

However, with ever more foreign players qualifying to play as naturalised South Africans after obtaining citizenship, it means there could be more than five foreigners on the field at any given time.

Jordaan said this could negatively affect the national side, adding that Safa would propose that the six other players should be ones who qualify to play for the South African national team.

“If you have five players registered as foreigners and still have others who are playing as South Africans, it means we are going to have fewer South Africans on the field. Our selectors should have a wider pool to choose from,” said Jordaan.

“We should be saying the six other players in the team should be eligible to play for the national team.”

He said one of the reasons England had not done well on the international stage was due to the influx of foreigners in their league.

The last time England won a major event was back in 1966, when they lifted the Fifa World Cup on home soil.

Goal scorer

Jordaan said that, despite the English Premier League being the best in the world, England’s national team always struggled.

However, a quick glance over the past year shows that foreign players have always done well in the PSL. Last season’s top accolades went to Zimbabwean Khama Billiat, who scooped the Players’ Player and the Footballer of the Season awards.

Zambian international Collins Mbesuma walked away with the top goal scorer of the season accolade.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Ugandan goalkeeper Denis Onyango was named CAF’s best player based on the continent.

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