FIFA: Joseph Blatter supports a regulation in the number of foreign players in clubs

"With a little good will, we could again take up the idea of quotas for foreign players and seriously consider implementing it," wrote FIFA president Joseph Blatter on 14/08/2015.

In 2014-15, the percentage of minutes played by foreign footballers for the five largest clubs in the Premier League was 77.1%, says Joseph Blatter in a column entitled "Protect domestic players", published in the FIFA Weekly on 14/08/2015. In comparison, the minutes played by players trained at the respective academies of these five clubs amounted to only 10.2%.

"In order for their national team to be able to compete at the highest level again, a certain 'conservation' of domestic players is indispensable," wrote the FIFA president, who referred to his proposal of the 6+5 rule, which would have forced all clubs to include in their starting eleven at least six players eligible for selection in the country concerned. The rule was rejected by the European Union as it "contravened the European principle of people’s freedom of movement".

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