The Bangladesh Football Federation has finally realised that too many foreign players are narrowing down the opportunities for the local footballers and decided to reduce the number of overseas players from next season. In the last two seasons the BFF allowed the clubs to register at least seven foreign players but pick four of them in the starting XI.The clubs took the opportunity to recruit at least 60 foreign players and many of them were strikers, forcing the local forwards to warm the bench.
‘We decided to reduce the number of foreign players from the next season,’ BFF senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedi told reporters on Thursday after a meeting of the professional league committee.
‘For the greater interest of Bangladesh football we have to give more room to the local players in the domestic league, so we decided to allow less foreign players in the next season,’ he added.
Murshedi said they are yet to finalise the number of foreign players for each club and requested the premier league clubs to fix the number.
‘We asked the clubs to decide the number and I am hopeful that the clubs will take a positive decision,’ Murshedi said.
It was learnt that the BFF wanted to return to the old system,
allowing four foreigners to be registered and maximum three in the playing XI.
‘Due to demand of some top clubs we increased the number but now we will cut down the number and our president [Kazi Salahuddin] has his full support to the decision,’ Murshidi said.
-With New Age input
