• Football

PFA plans European home-grown rule

ESPN staff
November 13, 2013
The PFA will discuss how players at risk of concussion are assessed and treated at their AGM © AP
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UEFA is set to receive a proposal from the Professional Footballers' Association calling for European clubs to field at least three homegrown players in their starting line-ups, according to the BBC.

The PFA will have the issue on the agenda at its annual general meeting on Wednesday in a bid to stem the trend of clubs buying in established players rather than giving young prospects a chance in the first team.

Previous attempts to introduce similar plans for quota systems have been blocked under European labour laws, but the union of English-based players hopes that measures agreed upon and implemented across the continent would be accepted by the European Union.

According to the BBC report, the Premier League has the joint-lowest total minutes played by under-21 players among Europe's top five leagues this season, while only the German Bundesliga and France's Ligue 1 have not seen a drop in the number of young players over the last five years.

Also on the PFA's agenda at the AGM is the issue of how players at risk of concussion are assessed and treated - following the recent controversy over Tottenham Hotspur's handling of their goalkeeper Hugo Lloris - and the lack of black managers in the top four divisions.

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