Monday Update

The FA Premier League announced today that starting next year, teams must submit a squad of 25 players, 8 of which must be home-grown. The ruling is aimed at limiting the amount of foreign players being bought in the transfer market and increasing the amount of English players in the top division.

As much as the Premier League has benefited from having the likes of Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba plying their trade in the country, the worrying trend for clubs is to look abroad for new talent. The young, English talent in the developmental setup of most clubs therefore has not allowed the chance to flourish.

A couple of years ago, a club like Arsenal did not have a single English-born player in its starting eleven. With the new rule having been on the horizon for a couple of years now, clubs have started integrating more English into their squads. Arsenal now boasts at least three English players that have made their first-team debuts in the past year.

I commend the Premier League for this new ruling. England is one of the last places in Europe that has adopted such restrictions for its soccer league, and it seems to be about time.