More foreign players for M-League?
THE possible introduction of a new foreign player quota ruling will be discussed for the first time by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) board in Johor Baru tomorrow.
Teams in the M-League may be allowed to add a fifth foreigner from next season, but the signing must be a Southeast Asian player.
Currently, each team can sign four foreigners with one coming from Asia.
The suggestion to increase the quota was made by FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim last month in a move to raise the competitiveness of teams and also help in the development of football in this region.
In commercial sense, it will also help in the promotion of the M-League in this region.
“We will discuss about the Asean player quota on Tuesday,” said a reliable source yesterday.
“It will be the first time this will be discussed. It could be passed for implementation immediately.
“If it is passed then teams can field all five imports in matches.”
The Thai FA have already agreed to introduce an Asean player quota in their leagues next season. Currently, each Thai club can sign five players but one must be from Asia. However, only four can play in a match.
The proposal to increase the foreign quota may not be a wise idea as local players are already deprived of playing time with their respective clubs.
The national team are facing issues with quality centre-backs and strikers as most local teams rely on foreigners to fill in these positions for the M-League.
Meanwhile, Malaysia emerged champions in the Busan Beach Soccer Invitational in South Korea yesterday.
Saiful Md Noor’s side defeated China’s Awesome Club 6-3 in the final. Zaharim Yusof was the toast with a brace, while other goals were netted by Fakhruddin Mohamad, Riduwan Md Noor, Fakhrullah Mohamad and Ridhwan Zainal.
Malaysia started their campaign on Saturday by recording wins over Busan Transportation and Corporation (5-0) and Songbo Baby FS (6-1).
In the quarter-finals, Malaysia thrashed Unknown of Korea 8-2, before overcoming Japan’s BSC 4-3 on penalties after a 4-4 draw in regulation time to earn a crack at the title.