Clubs in the Saudi Arabian League are set to toughen up against a new foreigner roster

Less than two weeks before the start of the Saudi Roshan Professional League, the dispute between a number of clubs and the league is escalating after the adoption of new changes to the rules for the registration and participation of foreign players, amid escalation and collective movements to demand a review of the decision, which clubs believe will directly affect their technical plans and equal investment opportunities. the new season.

And it was revealed newspaper”Middle East“Saudi Arabia About intense contacts between several clubs of the Roche Professional League with the aim of unifying their position on the recent changes approved by the League in the regulation of the registration and participation of foreign players.

According to the newspaper, the clubs intend to take formal steps to challenge the regulation, appealing to a higher authority and demanding a review of the decision before it takes effect, given the growing belief among club officials that the changes will negatively impact their technical plans and investment of foreign players in age-group teams.

What are the new changes?

The new regulation stipulates that the list of additional youth players must include Saudi players, or if they are not Saudi, they must be born in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In practice, this means that foreign players outside of this category are not allowed to register for the Under-21 squad, with only 10 foreign players being eligible to participate in first-team league competitions.

Clubs: The decision was made without full consensus

According to sources, a number of clubs believe that the new changes were adopted without reaching a final consensus, stressing that they were not fully consulted before the regulation was approved.

He clarified that the seminars prior to the publication of the regulations were dedicated to the exchange of ideas and the discussion of various proposals and did not aim to adopt mandatory changes, noting that representatives of a number of clubs expressed their reservations about the proposals as they were presented.

Why did the association change the regulations?

Sources say that the League took this step with the aim of closing what it considered to be a circumvention of the previous regulations.

In past seasons, some clubs have registered foreign players in the age-group or under-21 squads and then used them when a first-team player was injured or absent, allowing 10 foreigners to feature in the squad.

The association believed that this practice was reducing the participation opportunities of young Saudi players, prompting it to introduce new changes.

Technical Plans and Competitive Integrity

On the other hand, the objecting clubs argue that the new regulations impose additional restrictions on them, limiting their ability to technically benefit from the foreign players they have signed with a view to developing their age groups.

It also believes that the timing of the decision, around two weeks before the start of league competition, could affect the integrity of the tournament, given that many clubs rely on technical and contractual plans built under the previous regulation, making the decision in need of review before its implementation begins.

In the same context, the League informed the clubs that in the next two days, it will provide them with the detailed mechanism for the participation of foreign players registered in the under-21 national team.

The association will also clarify the mechanism for the participation of these players in the Two Holy Mosques Cup and the Saudi Arabian Super Cup, after last season’s regulations allowed the participation of any foreign player, whether registered with the first team or under-21 team, provided that the number of foreign players participating in the match does not exceed 10 players.

A change in the balance of power in the league

Other sources told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the alliance opposed to the changes believes that the balance of power in the clubs of the professional league has witnessed a noticeable change in the past three years.

Sources explain that the big clubs no longer have the same influence to stop or change some organizational decisions as they did in the past, given the decline in the level of coordination between them.

On the other hand, greater coordination emerged between a number of other clubs that became more harmonized in their positions at the League Association meetings, which was reflected in the adoption of a number of organizational decisions in the recent period, including recent changes to the regulations for the registration and participation of foreign players.