Mutasem Abdullah (Dubai)
The beginning of the current season of the “First Division League” 2022-2023 saw the first official application of the decision to increase the number of foreign players, after the changes to the regulations of the competition organized by the Football Association included the increase in the number of foreign professional players to 4 instead of two currently, as long as there are two players among them (under 23 years old).
14 of the 17 clubs participating in the league this season benefited from the new decision, after restricting around 24 players, most of whom actively participated during the first six rounds of the current season, while Hatta, Masafi, and the clubs Al Arabi preferred to play with foreigners only “over the top”. 23 ”, alongside newborns and residents.
The first championship regulation provides that the number of players enrolled in the ranking of the foreign, resident and newborn categories must not exceed 8, of which 6 will participate in the stadium, except for the club that satisfies the conditions to benefit from an additional seventh player of the State and Resident categories, which includes being born in 2000 and beyond, and 3 years and more have passed since his registration in the Federation, and must be linked to a valid contract with the club in which the number of years of residence for at least 5 is completed.
An estimated number of “young foreigners” have imposed their preference in the first six rounds of the championship, in terms of continuous participation, and 6 out of 24 players in the “young foreigners” category have overcome the barrier of 500 minutes of participation in rounds matches previous.
Argentine midfielder Brian Ezekiol tops the list with Al Jazira Al Hamra “leader of the league table” with a score of 599 minutes, and Muntadhar Maslouhi, Iraqi midfielder Al Taawun Club with 578 minutes, and Ahmed Al Wali “Al Rams “with 561 minutes, followed by Kaiki Dalbert, Al Dhaid’s” Brazilian “striker with a score of 540 minutes, compared to 535 minutes for Serbian striker Philip Stobervik, as well as Al-Jazira player Al-Hamra Gonzalo Cordoba , with an average of 523 minutes.
The Mauritanian scorer of the “Young Foreigners”, Ahmid El-Wali, striker of Al-Rams and second top scorer of the league with 5 goals stood out, while the Serbian striker Stobrevic scored 3 goals, against the two of Damilari Salah El -Din “Masfout” and Mohamed Diop “Gulf FC”, Antonio Carlos (Gulf FC), Muntazer Maslouki (Al Taawun), Gonzalo Cordoba (Al Jazira Al Hamra).
The move by the Football Association has come to increase the number of foreigners in Serie A by imposing the inclusion of foreigners under the age of 23, so that clubs have the opportunity to bring in young foreign talent who enrich the competition and offer investment opportunities. future in the field of transfers if the desired success is achieved.
Doctor: The right choice is the condition for success
Badr Tabib, coach of the Al Taawun Club, said the experience of using “young foreigners” was technically winning after the promising start of a number of hallmarks in the league launch during the current season, underlining the positive aspect of the Iraqi Muntazer Maslouki with Al Taawun, and explained: “The appropriate and good selection mechanism plays an important role in the success of the experience, especially in the case of the inclusion of players of distinct level, and those with experience with the national teams. “
Al-Badwawi: Quality is the reason for the reluctance of the “hurricane”
Ali Al-Badwawi, CEO of Hatta Club, revealed that the club’s efforts to sign foreign players under the age of 23 at distinct levels were unsuccessful, which led to the “hurricane” starting the championship journey only with foreigners, and added: “The opportunity is available to us in the coming periods to complete the ranking, especially since the mechanism in the selection depends primarily on technical opinion”. He pointed out that the experience could add further financial burdens to some clubs, noting that the team’s improvement in the final rounds and its progression in the standings give optimism.
Al-Amri: 10% of the privileged
Adel Al-Amiri, the players’ agent, said the percentage of distinguished players in the first experience of participation of “young foreigners” does not exceed 10%, according to the first six rounds of the amateur league, and added: “The decision looks good to enrich the competition despite the reserve on the number of players inside the stadium and its impact on the participation fee of city players, which is the most important”, underlining that the Federation’s strategy plans to increase the number of professionals at the level of citizen actors, which is not consistent with recent amendments.
numbers
24 players
14 teams have at least one player
3 non-foreign youth clubs (Hatta, Masafi, Al Arabi)
4 clubs have hired a player “Dibba Al Hisn, Al Hamriya, Al Taawun, City”
10 clubs including foreign players
Top scorers
Ahmed Al-Wali “Al-Rams” – 5 goals
Philip Stobervik «Al-Orouba» – 3 goals
Damilari Salah El Din “Masfoot” – 3 goals
Mohamed Diop (Gulf FC) – 3 goals
Antonio Carlos “Gulf FC” – 3 goals
Muntadhar Maslouki, “Al-Taawun” – two goals
Gonzalo Cordoba “Al Jazeera Red” – two goals
Most “Game minutes” posts
Brian Ezekiel, “The Red Island”, 599 min
Muntazer Maslouki, “Al Taawun”, 578 min
Ahmed Al-Wali “Al-Rams”, 561 minutes
Kaiki Dalbert “Al Dhaid”, 540 minutes
Philip Stobervik “The Arabs”, 535 minutes
Gonzalo Cordoba “The Red Island”, 523 minutes
