Malaysia will boot foreign players out of its domestic
league next season to save cash and develop its flagging national
game.
Soccer federation chiefs meeting at the weekend unanimously
agreed that clubs' reliance on highly-paid foreign imports was
shutting out local talent and weakening the national team.
"We are not at the status of English Premier League, our league
is not matured yet, therefore some drastic measures must be taken
to improve it," the federation's deputy president, Khairy
Jamaluddin, told local reporters.
"With the presence of foreign players, local players have not
been given the opportunity (to develop)."
Officials also said most of the foreigners were past their prime
and clubs were struggling to pay their high salaries.
"(Clubs) can't cope, so it is best that we do away with foreign
players until the problems are solved," one committee member told
the Star newspaper.
Federation officials also cited a government report that
suggested many of those involved in match-fixing in the Malaysian
Super League were foreigners, with Africans the worst
offenders.
The Super League, launched amid great fanfare in 2004, has done
little to improve Malaysia's national team, which is ranked a lowly
166th in FIFA's world rankings.
