Football’s Coming Homegrown

UEFA have announced that clubs qualifying for the Champions League and UEFA Cup will have to include at least four homegrown players in their 25-man squads from the 2006-07 season. UEFA have announced that clubs qualifying for the Champions League and UEFA Cup will have to include at least four homegrown players in their 25-man squads from the 2006-07 season.

The quota will rise to six players the following season, then to a maximum of eight homegrown players by 2008-09 following an agreement reached by the presidents and general secretaries of UEFA’s 51 national members.

The ruling could be expanded to include domestic competitions at UEFA’s annual congress in Tallinn, Estonia in April.

The ruling seems set to go before the courts though. Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein told BBC Radio Five Live: “It’s misguided and it will almost certainly now be challenged.

“Few Premier League squads would meet UEFA’s current proposals and we think the quality of our league would suffer.

“We probably have the most successful league in the world and we tamper with it at our peril.

“Although it has been proposed for UEFA competitions, there is a danger it could eventually be introduced to all levels. We don’t think they can do that.”

Click here to read the full explanation of the ruling issued on UEFA’s web site.