TFF President Hacıosmanoğlu signals 'change' for foreign player rule

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu announced that the foreign player rule will be reconsidered, stating that they must produce young players to reduce dependency on foreign talent.

"THERE SHOULD BE NO FOREIGN PLAYERS IN THE 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD LEAGUES"

Noting that the rules introduced should be permanent, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "We have to produce to reduce dependency on the outside. When you produce, you become strong. When you consume, you get weaker every day. We need to turn them into teams that produce by giving importance to the amateur leagues, the 1st League, 2nd League, 3rd League, and youth academies. Even in the BAL (Regional Amateur League), transfers of players over 30 are being made. Foreign players are playing in the amateur league. I consider this an insult to our youth; we must address this. In my personal opinion, there should be no foreign players in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Leagues, let alone the amateur level. We also set rules in the Süper Lig, as you know. However, we change the rules while the match is being played. We set a foreign limit, and we change it a year later. Our professionals will work with common sense, a rule will be determined, and that rule will not change again for as long as Almighty God grants us time here."

"WE NEED TO SET CRITERIA SUCH AS AGE AND NATIONAL TEAM CAPS FOR THE FOREIGN RULE"

Expressing that caution is needed in foreign player transfers, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "This money belongs to this nation. It comes out of our clubs, but it is national capital. We buy players; sometimes they are very famous, and we pay a lot of money. They don't adapt, and 6 months later they say 'I'm leaving.' You pay the money for the 3-year contract you signed, and you send them away. We need to set criteria such as age and national team caps in the Süper Lig. We must not squander this nation's money just to make headlines with players whose careers in Europe are already over. Here, Mr. President, there is a task for both the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of National Education. You know, German football had hit rock bottom. They started a move as a country. They allocated a budget of over 900 million euros. They started from schools with moves to increase production, and 5 years later they became world champions in Brazil."

Continuing his speech, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu thanked AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his support for football, stating, "When we were children, we used to watch European matches. We would look at the pitch; it was more beautiful than the carpet in our house. During Mr. President's 20-year term, stadiums according to European standards have been built in almost every province of ours. Some criticized me, saying I was playing politics. Whoever provides this service, we will carry them on our heads. First as the football family, and then together with our ministries that will be partners in this issue, we must work together, determine our principles, and carry the brand value of Turkish football to the place it deserves."

HAD DECIDED TO INCREASE IT FROM 12 TO 14

The first act of İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, who won the TFF presidential elections by a 5-vote margin against Mehmet Büyükekşi, was the foreign player rule.

The Hacıosmanoğlu administration had decided to increase the foreign player limit in the Süper Lig from 12 to 14.

In addition, the A-Team List was increased from 26 to 28, and it was permitted to include 14 foreign players on the list.

News Source: 12punto