Football's world governing body have voted in
favour of the 'six-plus-five rule' which would limit the number of
foreign players in each team.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said he hopes the
controversial rule will be in place by the 2012/13
season.
His vision appears to be a step closer following the
overwhelming backing at FIFA's annual congress in Sydney,
Australia.
After Friday's vote, Blatter told a press conference:
"Inside the congress of FIFA today we had sunshine on different
items, important ones.
"Because today we were somewhere in the crossroad between the
interests of clubs and national teams, and the congress of FIFA has
given very clear indications of where we have to go.
"Together with the chairman of FIFA's football committee, Mr
Franz Beckenbauer, and Michel Platini, we come to this
resolution.
"The congress was very happy in a result of overwhelming
majority, with 155 votes in favour and five against. 155 yes and
five no.
"It is an overwhelming support to this resolution.
"The FIFA president has asked, together with the UEFA president,
to explore - and explore is not to discuss, it's to go in depth -
within the limits of the law.
"The application of such a system would start only at the end of
2010 and we would start progressively with four, five and six.
"Even if it is necessary, because we have had Manchester United
winning the European Champions League with six players eligible for
the Great Britain team at the beginning of the match, so we are not
far away.
"Chelsea had four. Zenit St Petersburg, when they played Glasgow
Rangers, they had up to seven. Glasgow had four or five.
"We are not far away from a situation.
"Speaking about it is illegal? For whom? For when? If there is a
law, a law can be amended.
"I have already now a meeting with the speaker of the European
parliament - chairman as we say, but you say in the British
version, the speaker - on June 5 in the afternoon in Brussels, as
he said, to explore now the ways.
"If he says to explore the ways, it's not to say 'stop it', so
you see we're on the right track."