AFC adopts Saudi recommendation to increase foreign player quota in Champions League

DUBAI: The Asian Football Confederation announced on Friday that it was adopting recommendations from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to increase the number of foreign players that teams in the AFC Champions League can field. It will also align the tournament’s schedule to match those of most domestic leagues in West Asia. When the 2023 continental competition kicks off, all 40 entrants in the group stages and the play-offs, will be able to field a total of six foreign players, an increase of two from the current limit.

The stipulation that one of the imports must be from a fellow Asian nation remains. This decision, the AFC said, is “aimed at strengthening the quality, competitiveness and stature of the AFC club competitions.” While the move will be welcomed in Riyadh, it does not go quite as far as SAFF would have liked. The federation had wanted limits on foreign players to be increased but their ideal outcome was that the continental quota would reflect the limits in the continent’s respective domestic leagues.

At the time of the proposal, eleven leagues around the continent allowed more imports for their domestic competition — including the Saudi Professional League, which allows seven foreign players. In November, when the idea was raised, SAFF General Secretary Ibrahim Al-Kassim explained the reasoning behind the idea. “The Saudi Football Association’s proposal to increase foreign players in the Asian Championship will ease contractual problems with players,” Al-Kassim said.