MFA Council approves introduction of fifth foreigner in Premier League

MFAThe Council of the Malta Football Association approved on Thursday a change in the Competition Rules thanks to which Premier League clubs could field up to five foreign players on the field of play.

The Premier League Clubs Standing Committee put forward this proposal a few weeks ago after Premier League clubs voted in favour with a large majority.

The Executive Committee therefore proposed that at any time during a match, a club may have up to five foreign players on the field of play. However the rule also states that a club may not have more than six foreign players on the team-sheet for a particular match.

This mean that although a club could sign an unlimited number of foreign players, for a particular match, the team could not include more than six foreign players on the line-up.

The proposal for a maximum of six foreign players on the line-up came from the MFA Technical Centre. It is meant to increase the chances of Maltese players since during substitutions, only one foreign player could be included to replace another foreigner if there are already five on the field of play.

If by mistake, a team includes seven or more foreign players on the line-up and at least one of the players enters on the field of play, all foreign players are deemed ineligible to play and therefore points for that game are lost.

Regulations for the other divisions remain unchanged – three foreigners for First Division clubs and one foreigner for the remaining divisions.