6 + 5 = 2012

[Guest optimistic nit]

i've been thinking about that second para for a bit as well. players like kazenga lua lua who are down to play for the democratic republic of congo would almost certainly not do this if this regulation came about. you could well have the ludicrous situation where players from smaller countries who have emigrated to, for example, britain would not declaire allegence to said national team because they have brittish citizenship. or would it not work like that?

[Guest quklaani]

Well the proposed rule is not focused on citizenship but on "national team eligibility."  There'd be an awful lot of african players who'd refuse to play for their countries of birth and instead opt for whatever league they're playing in.

[Baggio]

i've been thinking about that second para for a bit as well. players like kazenga lua lua who are down to play for the democratic republic of congo would almost certainly not do this if this regulation came about. you could well have the ludicrous situation where players from smaller countries who have emigrated to, for example, britain would not declaire allegence to said national team because they have brittish citizenship. or would it not work like that?

 

I read somewhere that foreign youngsters coming through academy's can be included in the English group.

[Wullie]

To my mind there are two pretty big concerns about any ruling such as this.  Firstly the most obvious worry is that it will only cement the dominance of the wealthy.  To give an easy example, if this ruling came into being next season then Agbonlahor and Young would not be Aston Villa players for much longer.  Lescott and Jagielka would be ripped from Everton, hell, Spurs would lose half their squad.  Suddenly the prior "premium" on English players will seem a pittance.  All the best English players will be hoovered up by the rich clubs and due to the rules nobody else will be able to replace these players with either bargains from elsewhere, or quality English players because they too would be snapped up immediately.  This of course would also have a similar affect on the academies.

 

The second is what it means for the other national teams in Britain and Ireland.  Now this won't happen with everyone of course, but one can imagine a great many young Welsh, Scottish etc players will refuse to declare for their national teams because of the harm it would do to their chances of playing in Premier League.  Certainly it would bring an end to the use of the "granny rule."  A young Ryan Giggs would likely tell the welsh FA to get stuffed if his playing for them meant he'd be counted as "foreign" and therefore would significantly damage his chances of a top flight career.  I mean jesus, if this rule were to actually come into being, which Im still largely confident it won't, then Darren Fletcher would be considered a "foreign player" and Manuel Almunia would not.*

 

*Worth noting that my worries about who players will declare for are not at all limited to Britain, it's just more of a concern here.

 

Giggs was never eligible to play for England. [/nitpick]

[Guest quklaani]

No, he wasn't, but I'd imagine that were this to become part of the rules there'd be a shift in residency rules to allow player who are from another part of the UK to become "eligible" for the English national team.  I don't understand why there isn't anyway, Mikel Arteta will be allowed to play for England soon, but Giggs who has lived in Manchester since he was seven wouldn't.  It's the same wih players like Le Saux and Le Tissier.  The whole thing is mental.

[gazza ladra]

I'm a bit surprised by this-- well, I suppose I shouldn't be.  These rules would, I think, be pretty disastrous for the national teams in the developing world. I'm thinking of Africa in particular. They've got all of their best players in Europe playing for the best clubs in the world and that door is going to be shut in their faces. The opportunities for improvement will be cut off for a lot of talented players. FIFA here does not seem, to me, to be representing the best interests of those players or of the national FAs.

 

In any case, this is clearly a labor issue.  The EU is 100% right IMO.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

I just hope FIFA knocks nonsense down. It's the responsibility of the respective FA's to help the national teams and the responsibility of the players to go and find their own jobs. I'm going to be quite honest here and say that there isn't much wrong with the way things work currently. European football is thriving, and interest from the rest of the world is at an alltime high.

[OzzieMandias]

I'm a bit surprised by this-- well, I suppose I shouldn't be.  These rules would, I think, be pretty disastrous for the national teams in the developing world. I'm thinking of Africa in particular. They've got all of their best players in Europe playing for the best clubs in the world and that door is going to be shut in their faces. The opportunities for improvement will be cut off for a lot of talented players. FIFA here does not seem, to me, to be representing the best interests of those players or of the national FAs.

 

In any case, this is clearly a labor issue.  The EU is 100% right IMO.

 

Broadly agree, but I think it will narrow opportunities for non-EU players, rather than eliminate them completely.

[merlin]

there is an exception to the freedom to work rules concerning cultural activities, so it is possible (tho unlikely imo) that football could be granted a cultural exception.

 

also merlin, the EU is the world's largest economy, and is over twice the size of china's and over four times bigger than india's.

 

Population of India & China ? Whose economy is growing(or not shrinking) at the fastest rate..??

Why are the Germans placing car plants in China..??

Would the EU like to take on either country(let alone the USA)in a military contest? They can't even let their troops out to do soldiering in Afghanistan,,,

 

Whose population is ageing fastest and have a huge demographic Pension problem???

IF you look at realities, you begin to see why Disraeli talked about 'lies, damned lies & statistics'

Oh, and who did Hilary Clinton rush off to see first? wasn't the EU...

 

China is even more f***ed than EU & US because their economy is based on us buying crap from them

 

TOTALLY wrong - China still growing at 6% p.a., has also launched world's BIGGEST stimulus package for its DOMESTIC economy...as for western countries buying 'crap' from them, well, if you don't like it, don't buy it, and assuming you live in the UK, that seems a strange comment from someone whose Prime Minister couldn't wait to lick the Chinese PMs boots recently because they now own such 'crap' brands as Rover, having bought it from the UK...!

I think you'll find that many of the flat-screen TVs that westerners rush to buy because the price has come down were made in China......