Let Go of the Quotas!

By Zain Alvi | 16th September 2009

Let Go of the Quotas! | read this item

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england-bus Am I the only one who has had just about enough of the countless emerging proposals pushing for all sorts of quotas? Certainly not. Whether it’s the restriction over acquiring young foreign talent, or the recently established requirement of having at least eight homegrown players in each Premier League squad, it seems that the governing bodies of football are meddling with the mannerisms of a sport that is doing just fine.

I have always believed that there is no point in fixing something that is not broken. Therefore, I believe that the implementation of quotas and restrictions in the beautiful, freeflowing world of football is poised to create bitter limitations within the sport. In fact, viewing football as an industry (and not merely a sport), makes it easier to comprehend how Adam Smith’s concept of the invisible hand applies classically to this particular industry.

The roster of a professional football team should be required to adhere to only a few fundamental requirements that are found within the guidelines generated by FIFA and its delegates. Beyond the need for this mandatory compliance, a roster should be granted the freedom to combine talent from all parts of the world, regardless of factors such as nationalities, age, or price tag.

At the end of the day, every football fan wants to see how his or her team – to the best of its ability – fares compared to the competition. The implementation of quotas will effectively work against this idea as not a single team will be free to operate at its highest capacity. Imagine Arsene Wenger being denied the opportunity to recruit young foreign sensations under a potential new quota system. Or imagine Rafa Benitez and his Reds being penalized for lacking the minimum amount of homegrown players.

Worse, try to picture Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini laughing in the face of the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid as the giant spenders face the prospect of being prohibited from reaching for their wallets too often. For obvious reasons, I feel that the governing bodies of the sport will only regret the implementation of such ridiculous quotas and sooner than later, the free market approach will approach a revival. Hence, it can only be hoped that before it is too late, the likes of FIFA and UEFA realize that prevention is always better than cure!

Are the new quotas good for the game or will they water down the quality of football? Have your say below!

e-Soccertips says:

September 18, 2009 at 5:25 am

I can not understand quota as well. Transfer limit is fine or maybe limitation of transferring foreign player.

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Andy says:

September 17, 2009 at 1:22 am

Quotas are a good idea. End of. The idea that ENGLISH Premier League teams field sides that contain no english players is outragous. This will hopefully put more emphasis on clubs own academies rather then going abroad to raid other countries academies.

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Thomas O Loughlin says:

September 16, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Personally i don’t think there should be quotas, maybe the possible ban of transfers for under 18s could be modified to under 16 or 17 to give some help to homegrown players.

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