Football League Clubs have voted to introduce a ‘Home-Grown Players’ rule, as proposed by The Football League Board, at a specially arranged EGM at Derby County today.
The new rule will come into effect from the beginning of next season and will require at least four players from Clubs’ sixteen-man matchday squads to be registered domestically, for a minimum of three seasons, prior to their 21st birthday.
In welcoming the Club’s decision Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said:
“I would like to compliment Football League Clubs for having the foresight to make changes that will benefit the wider game.”
“League clubs are at the forefront of developing young playing talent for the domestic game and are investing more than £40m a season in this important area. As a result of today’s vote, those players being developed will have a greater chance to demonstrate their talent at first team level.”
The new rule is in line with the approach favoured by UEFA rather than the ’6 + 5’ approach being proposed by FIFA as The League has concerns over the legality of the latter in European law. This means that players will be considered as ‘home-grown’ regardless of their nationality.
