Polemic Of Adding Quota For Foreign Players League 1: A Trend That Can't Be Rejected, But Don't Forget Early Childhood Development

Persija Jakarta goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa's Instagram upload, allegedly a form of protest over the discourse on adding foreign player quotas in Liga 1. (Instagram/@andritany)

JAKARTA Belum juga berlayang, kompetisi Liga 1 2024/2025 sudah ramai dibahas. Wacana regulasi baru terkait penambahan kuota pemain asing menjadi delapan di tiap klub menjadi persoalan.

The news of the addition of foreign player quotas to eight in the Indonesian League 1 from the 2014-2025 season was revealed by the President Director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) Fery Paulus. He explained that the regulation was an agreement from the clubs participating in the League 1 next season.

Persib Bandung footballer David Da Silva celebrated with his teammates after scoring against Madura United in the second leg of the BRI-Liga 1 Championship Series Final at Gelora Bangkalan Stadium, Bangkalan, East Java, Friday (31/5/2024). (ANTARA/Rizal Hanafi/aww.)

The policy of eight foreign players in Liga 1 next season is discussed with a composition of six free foreign players plus two Asians, from the previous five free and one Southeast Asia. Later, the club can only install five foreign players and one Asian player as a starter, while one foreign player and the rest of Asia must sit in the reserve seat. One of them can only enter as a substitute for other foreign players.

In addition to improving the quality of local players in League 1, this policy is also reportedly taken to reduce the price of local players who soar.

This regulation immediately reaps the pros and cons, especially among footballers. The anxiety of the players is shown by busy uploading a message on social media.

Indonesian footballers compactly upload a picture of a gray question mark and have a black background with the words 'Is This Indonesian Football?' Persija Jakarta goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa, Barito defender Putra Bagas Kaffa, to PSIS Semarang midfielder Septian David Maulana was one of the players who voiced the campaign.

The image upload was added with a description that read, "The question is for all of us, is this an Indonesian football competition?"

Another player who also uploaded the picture was Borneo FC captain Diego Michiels. But unlike most of the players who countered, Diego actually positively welcomed the discourse on the new regulation of this foreign player quota. He reasoned, this is to improve the quality of players and the league.

"I'm sorry, all my friends in Liga 1, but I agree that the foreign player quota will be added," wrote Diego.

"For the sake of higher league quality, for the sake of quality in training, for the sake of self-quality to rise, for the sake of mental up the FC."

The implementation of foreign player quotas in football competitions is actually not new. And, Indonesia is not the only league that implements restrictions on the number of foreign players.

In comparison, the Malaysian Super League has followed the rules of nine foreign players in each team. Even teams competing in Asian club competitions, such as the Asian Elite Champions League, the Asian 2 Champions League, and the ASEAN Club Championships, may register 10 foreign players.

The details are, of the nine foreign players consisting of seven free players, one Asian player, and one ASEAN player. The recruited ASEAN players must also have at least three caps with their country.

In every game, only six foreign players can be shown and one foreign player sits on the bench. The remaining two cannot be included in the line-up.

The Thai League also did the same thing, which set a quota of nine foreign players. The number consists of five free foreign players, one Asian, and three ASEAN players.

The team that completes the quota of foreign players in the 2023-2024 Thai League is BG Pathum United. Three ASEAN players were used to sign the Singapore trio, namely Ikhsan Fani, Irfan Fandi, and Ryhan Stewart.

However, local Supachai Chaided still managed to get out as the top scorer for the last two seasons. Supachai's success is proof that quality local players are able to compete with foreign players.

Former Persik Kediri coach Aris Budi Sulistyo said the proliferation of the upload "Is this Indonesian Football?" appeared because of the anxiety of the players whose fate was threatened by the presence of imported players. The addition of foreign player quota is considered to be able to further erode the opportunities for local players to show off.

"I don't agree with eight foreign players. Because, apart from coaching and the professional side, we also have to provide a platform for local players to be great," said Aris.

However, Aris did not deny the fact that currently the salaries of local players are very high and continue to soar. However, the salary increase is not accompanied by an increase in the quality of players.

"Indeed, the price of players has gone crazy. Since yesterday, I've also seen that. Why can the community respect players with such a high value?" said Aris.

"Meanwhile, in my opinion, the price is high, achievements and abilities are still mediocre. So, it's as if every year the contract value of these players have to go up. Even though their abilities don't go up," he added.

Like other regulations, the addition of foreign player quotas in Liga 1 has a positive and negative impact. Those who are pros with this regulation think that foreign players can help play a team, not infrequently being the key to victory.

The latest example is the campaign series last season, when two teams that broke into the top, Persib Bandung and Madura United, have always fielded six foreign players since the start of four matches.

This is one proof that the quality of foreign players from both teams is able to lift the team's performance during the 2023-2024 season. Even at the end of the competition, two foreign players namely Francisco Rivera (Madura United FC) and David Da Silva (Persib Bandung) were lined up as the best players and top scorers for Liga 1 2023-2024.

Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-yong said that the regulation on quotas for foreign players is a necessity. Many other leagues, including in Asia, have implemented it.

The South Korean coach agrees that adding foreign players can encourage local players to improve their quality in order to compete for the first team at their respective clubs, but he also emphasized the importance of increasing early childhood coaching.

"For the regulation of foreign players to eight, it is indeed a trend from the AFC, it is like that and in Asia it is also like that," said STY, quoted by Antara.

"So like it or not, we have to accept, the important thing is early childhood coaching, that's what is important and must be strengthened so that local players are no less competitive with foreign players and also other players," he said.