BERNE, Switzerland, July 8 (Reuters) - The newly-formed European Club Association (ECA) has used its first meeting to oppose FIFA's controversial 6+5 proposal aimed at restricting the number of foreign players in starting line-ups.
The ECA said in a statement on Tuesday that its 103 members
had 'strongly endorsed the stance' taken by chairman Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge and vice-chairman Joan Laporta after talks last month
with EU Commissioner Vladimir Spidla.
'In ECA's view, there is no necessity for a 6+5 rule, and
the organisation favours instead UEFA's 'home-grown' approach,'
the statement added.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has personally championed the
6+5 proposal which would limit clubs to fielding just five
foreign players at the start of a match.
Blatter has argued that his idea would strengthen national
teams and prevent wealthy clubs from hoarding the best
international players.
UEFA, which governs European football, has repeatedly argued
that the proposal is in conflict with EU labour laws on the free
movement of workers within the bloc.
UEFA's rival 'home-grown' plan, which is already in force in
its own Champions League competition, instead requires every
club squad to include a minimum number of locally trained
players.
Unlike FIFA's proposals, the UEFA version does not place any
restrictions on those players' nationalities.
The ECA, which was created in January as a more
representative replacement for the contentious G-14 group of
leading clubs, also announced the line-up of its own executive
board on Tuesday with Rummenigge being confirmed as chairman.
The 52-year-old two-time European footballer of the year had
been acting chairman since the founding of the ECA but was voted
in officially by the body's new 15-member board on Tuesday.
The ECA comprises 103 clubs selected purely on their UEFA
ranking with at least one member from each national association.
Higher ranked associations send more representatives, with
England, Spain and Italy all having five clubs in the body's
general assembly.
