16 May 2008MPs put weight behind Blatter quota proposals

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance | Football Referees, Players, Managers and Media

Fifa president Sepp Blatter's desire to introduce a 'six-plus-five' quota for football clubs was endorsed yesterday by a group of prominent MPs.

The controversial concept, which would involve teams fielding a maximum of five non-nationals in their starting line-up, was denounced as a violation of EU law in February by the European Commission.

However, a culture, media and sport select committee responded by telling the commission that it had no right to interfere with sports governing bodies.

The Guardian reports that the MPs claimed, "national governing bodies of sport [should] continue to have the freedom to decide for themselves how their sports should be run.

"We believe governing bodies should be free to decide whether or not to introduce quotas for locally trained players."

The government is said to be ready to push the case for introducing the measure if it receives backing from across the sporting spectrum.

Cricket and rugby have both already attempted to address the issue by urging further negotiations in Brussels, but the outlook for football in the UK is less clear.

New FA chairman Lord Triesman is thought to be open to the prospect of more English players breaking through in top-flight teams, while the Premier League has stated its opposition to the concept of quotas.

Blatter has been pushing the 'six-plus-five' idea since last October, and it is set to be approved at the Fifa congress in Sydney at the end of the month.

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