Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has become a rare voice
against blocking the trade of Under-18 footballers, defending his
club's policy of signing the best young players from around the
world and claiming the rules should actually be
relaxed.
The French coach criticised the current rules which make it
difficult for English clubs to sign youths from Asia, South America
and Africa.
Wenger claims that stopping a practice that Leeds chairman Ken
Bates has described as "baby farming" would actually put the
players at more risk and they would likely fall prey to
unscruplious agents.
FIFA are determined to clean up the game after last week banning
Chelsea from signing any players until 2011. Since the Gael Kakuta
ruling a whole host of offended clubs have come out to demand
action.
Most of Europe's top clubs have stated they would support a ban
on any transfers for under-age players, but Wenger strongly
disagrees claiming there are many advantages to joining big clubs
with a professional infrastructure.
Arsenal have one of the most cosmopolitan Academies in Europe
with players from all over the globe.
"People think that we take 30 players every year and you get
them into your academy," he insisted. "No, it's not like that. When
we take one or two, we give them a top level education, we give
them a top level scholarship, and we look after them socially.
"Look at the alternative. If you ban players from moving before
the age of 18, you know what will happen? The player will be sold
anyway,'' he said. "To whom? To agents. At what age? At 13, 14.
Where will they go? Not to top-level clubs with top-level
education.
"They will go to clubs who have been bought by business people,
of a very low level, and will stay there until the age of 18
waiting to be sold. The money will go out of the game. You have
always to look if you make one decision, what kind of
alternative?
"If your players cannot move to the best clubs, I believe they
will not improve. At the end of the day, to be a top-level player
is to be with the best. You can speak bout the compensation level,
is it right or not. I am open to that.
"I am against the process of stopping the players moving to the
top level. If you have a child who is a good musician, what is your
first reaction? It is to put it into a good music school, not in an
average one, so why should that not happen in football?
"If a player goes to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, it is
all clean and he gets a good education. That is why I am very sharp
on cases like that. We have to respect the rules that are in
place.
"England is, at the moment, in a weak position for taking young
players because they inflict a big handicap on themselves by the
fact that they have no access to Asian players, no access to South
American players, no access to African players.
"On top of that, if it was impossible to take European players
then you will have a big handicap in the future for English
football. What is happening now is a case that I have fought for a
long, long time against - people with regressive ideas.
"To expose your local players to top-world class players does
not harm your players, it improves your players because it respects
one basic rule - the best to become better have to play better. If
you have a good national team today, it just proves it conforms to
what I have preached for a long, long time - don't hide the best
players in England from being exposed with the best ones, because
that will make them weaker.
"Get them to be confronted with the best and make them
stronger."
