On May 1, 2020 (Friday), India’s Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju hoisted an e-meet with several top football coaches and stakeholders across the world to develop a better footballing culture in the country. One of the coaches in the meeting was Croatia’s national team manager Zlatko Dalic. The 53-year-old stressed on the importance of reducing the number of foreign players in Indian leagues to help the progress on the national team. India Remain Unmoved in Latest FIFA Rankings Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.

During the meeting, one of the questions raised was on how to develop young players in the country. The Croatian manager as quoted by Goal said ‘I followed your league and saw your teams and a small problem you have is that you have a lot of foreign players. An example is Saudi Arabia, last season it was eight foreign players, it is difficult for the local players, you can't develop young players,’ All India Football Federation Starts Online Tutorial Classes for Referees, Aims to Keep Them Fit During Coronavirus Lockdown.

The 53-year-old explained that too many foreign players in a team can hinder the development of local talent. ‘Too many foreigners is a problem because that will hinder the development of young (domestic) players. Two-to-three (foreigners) in a team should be enough. I know that you want to improve your league and brought a lot of foreign players but I think it will not help when you want to improve your national team.’ He added.

‘How will you improve your national team when your players didn't play in the league? If you bring foreign players, you have to bring good (quality) players who will benefit your team,’ said the Croatia manager.

Several Asian leagues have adopted the 3+1 foreign players quota laid down by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), however domestic leagues in India – Indian Super League and I-League – do not follow this rule. In ISL, a team can field a maximum of five foreign players at once.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2020 07:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).