In 2005, the Russian Football Union (RFU) approved the introduction of a foreigner limit in the Russian Premier League. The limit was approved after a long period of poor performances by the Russian national teams, and the failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Russia finished third in their qualification group after Slovakia and Portugal, and the absolute low-point during the campaign was a 7-1 defeat in Lisbon against Portugal. On top of this, the Russian U21 national team failed to qualify for the European Championship, which motivated RFU president Vitaly Mutko to push for changes in the Russian top flight, despite the major clubs being against it. Thus, the ‘legionnaire limit’, as it would later be known, was born with the hope of developing domestic talent for the national team.
The original plan was that between 2006 and 2010, the limit would go from allowing seven foreigners on the pitch at the same time to five in 2010. However, after interference from the biggest clubs in the country, the directive was changed on several occasions, and after taking steps towards allowing fewer foreigners on the pitch, the rules were back at seven foreigners plus four Russians (known as the 7+4 rule) in the 2012/2013 season.
Last season, there were talks of completely changing the limit, allowing the clubs to register a maximum of ten foreigners in their 25 men first team squads with no limits on how many of them were allowed to play at the same time. After gaining popularity among the Premier League clubs, the Executive Committee of the Russian Football Union officially approved the proposal. However, both Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister and current president of the RFU, and Igor Ananskikh, the head of the State Duma’s Committee for Physical Culture and Sport, promptly turned this down with the latter telling TASS news agency: “The adopted limits lead to the commercialization of certain football clubs, but contradicts the interests of the national sport’s development,” adding that the legionnaire issue was important due to Russia hosting the upcoming 2018 World Cup.
Instead of the proposal coming from the clubs, Mutko opted to tighten the limit from 7+4 to 6+5, which was approved in July last year, shortly before the start of the new season. A few months before the new limit was introduced, Mutko stated: “We chose the path to reducing the number of legionnaires. We will be significantly slashing their numbers because talks to ease competitive situations are just talks.” Mutko’s response came after the Russian State Duma had debated a draft law aiming to lower the amount of foreigners in Russian sports.
It was clear that Mutko was not alone with this opinion, and in September last year, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Council on the Physical Culture and Sport, stating that, “Sport in Russia should not stew in its own juice.” Putin then added that while Russia needed foreign coaches, specialists and legionnaires; “Excessive participation of foreign specialists and athletes in our sports movement and clubs does not help the development of Russian sports, but hampers it and creates problems in the formation of national teams.”
Soon after, Mutko revealed that Putin had asked him to ‘be tougher’ regarding the foreigner limit, as the newly introduced limits were ‘insufficient restrictions’.
Therefore, it was seen as a natural step when it appeared that Mutko wanted to introduce a 5+6 limit before next season. Now, however, it looks like the sports minister has changed his mind.
Speaking to TASS a few days ago, Mutko said: “I do understand very clearly that the limit is not a remedy or a tool for Russian players to emerge.”
Outside observers have often pointed out that the Russian legionnaire limit was nothing more than the easy solution to a complicated problem, and that issuing limits wouldn’t fix Russia’s deep lying problems with talent development.
Now, it looks like Mutko has reached the same conclusion, as he in the same interview also said: “We have defined the limit to cement five Russian footballers. Perhaps we will not get to this issue in the nearest future. We will channel all our resources into the system of training to form a market of our players.”
While the foreigner limit secures a spot on the team-sheet for the Russian players, it is also the main reason behind the leading players not leaving the country. When forced to start a certain number of Russians, the demand for these grow larger and so does their salaries, which explains why a player like Aleksandr Kokorin for example opted to stay in Russia rather than going abroad. Without a natural export of players, the young players, which the limit was meant to help, are kept out of the first team by more experienced players who stay in the country for their entire career.
When looking at some of the greatest football nations in the world, it is clear that quotas and limits isn’t the way to go in order to develop domestic talent. Instead, investments in academies, talent programmes and coaching education is needed. This is a tougher road that requires vision and especially time, something Russia doesn’t have much off before the World Cup in two and a half years, but in the long run it is the right track. With Mutko’s latest statement, perhaps there is a slight chance that Russia will aim to copy the likes of Germany rather than England who also work with a quota on homegrown players.
The quota system also reduces the quality of football in the Russian League. This of course hurts the development of Russian football, as Russian footballers will be playing in a less competitive and quality league.