Russia imposes quota on foreigners in sports
19 April 2012 4:53 PM GMT
Russia has announced that foreign athletes may not exceed 25 percent of a professional sports club's workforce.
The health and social development ministry's quota comes into force on 29th April, and applies to every team from football's Russian Premier League to hockey's KHL to basketball's VTB League.
The decree was published on Wednesday in the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
'Foreign athletes in Russian teams must be no greater than 25 percent of the overall number of employees, including masseurs, chefs, admin and other technical personnel,' the newspaper said.
'This rule applies to all categories, from regional teams to the highest leagues. The budgets of football, basketball and volleyball teams are eaten up by foreign coaches and players,' it said.
The rule does not appear to threaten the make-up of most of Russia's top clubs, which tend to employ many more Russians than foreigners The quota found support in the All-Russian Volleyball Federation, whose chief said it was critical not to impede the development of young talent.
'I support the new regulations. In my opinion, Russian athletes should play in our teams, and the foreigners who play should be of the top level only. Our organization already maintains the foreigner quota at an even lower level than 25 percent, though many insist on its expansion,' said Stanislav Shevchenko.
In football, the decree will act alongside existing regulations that limit the number of foreigners on the field of play at one time to five.
The health and social development ministry's quota comes into force on 29th April, and applies to every team from football's Russian Premier League to hockey's KHL to basketball's VTB League.
The decree was published on Wednesday in the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
'Foreign athletes in Russian teams must be no greater than 25 percent of the overall number of employees, including masseurs, chefs, admin and other technical personnel,' the newspaper said.
'This rule applies to all categories, from regional teams to the highest leagues. The budgets of football, basketball and volleyball teams are eaten up by foreign coaches and players,' it said.
The rule does not appear to threaten the make-up of most of Russia's top clubs, which tend to employ many more Russians than foreigners The quota found support in the All-Russian Volleyball Federation, whose chief said it was critical not to impede the development of young talent.
'I support the new regulations. In my opinion, Russian athletes should play in our teams, and the foreigners who play should be of the top level only. Our organization already maintains the foreigner quota at an even lower level than 25 percent, though many insist on its expansion,' said Stanislav Shevchenko.
In football, the decree will act alongside existing regulations that limit the number of foreigners on the field of play at one time to five.
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