AFC to ease foreign player caps and refresh seasonal calendar in a renewed push to boost global competitiveness
- AFC Competitions Committee plans to remove the 3+1 ceiling on the number of foreign player allowed
- Proposed changes to the AFC competition calendar aims to align AFC to European clubs in time for the 2023 season
The Asian Football Confederation has put forward a series of sweeping changes to open up its club competition and, hopefully, bolster its regional and global appeal.
Under the new rules, the AFC will ease the cap on foreign players, removing the 3+1 ceiling limiting a club to a maximum of four international players in favour of several new combinations.
The proposed new combinations – 4+2 or 5+1 or 5+2 – have received wide support from both the AFC Competitions Committee and the AFC Technical Committee, with a decision imminent in early 2022 for implementation from 2023 onwards.
The 3+1 rule was introduced in 2009 and proved to be a boon for Asian players who received more opportunities when it came to playing for other Asian clubs. But with the game coming into its own in recent years, officials said the time was right to review a crucial provision to further enhance the club game.
But perhaps the most significant change to be made is a shake up of its competition calendar from the current spring-autumn to the more established autumn-spring calendar.
“There will be changes to the rules on foreign players, as well as to our competitions calendar. These are all part of the strategy to improve our players, clubs and national teams on the world stage,” Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, said.
Officials hope to benefit from the calendar change in several ways – namely to better synchronise transfer windows and improve chances for Asian clubs to sign better players and coaches from around the world.
