This article gives a quick and concise rundown regarding the impending ‘6+5 rule’ FIFA President Sepp Blatter wishes to impose in football. Without further ado, here goes.

The creatively-named ‘6+5 rule’ simply implies that a team’s line-up on the field must be composed of at least 6 domestic players. These ‘domestic players’ must have born in that country and must be eligible for domestic team duty. For example, a club like AC Milan would have to include 6 Italian players in their line-up who are Italian-born and eligible to play for the Italian national team. The only problem for the new rule is its application in Europe where it comes up against the EU’s labour laws.

Nevertheless, why does Blatter want to implement it? His reaction is a natural one given the large amount of foreigners at clubs these days. The globalisation of football has meant that nowadays can go anywhere they want without many restrictions. This is especially true in Europe, where EU laws guarantee the freedom of labour. It’s no surprise that it’s also the place where clubs, such as Arsenal, have been accused of having too many foreigners, putting in jeopardy England’s football development.

The ‘6+5 rule’ has almost been implemented on every continent. The FIFA Congress in May assured its enforcement in all continents except Europe due to the EU’s labour laws. FIFA is now looking to lobby the EU to make football an exceptional case when it comes to complying with EU legislation.

In order to ensure that the new rule is implemented and enforced, all national associations will cooperate with FIFA.

That pretty much sums up what the ‘6+5 rule’ implies for world football. However, changes can occur, and these will be covered in future articles. Keep an eye out for them!