ISL foreign players rule: Know how many a team can sign and field in a match
The ISL foreign players rule has changed multiple times. In ISL, a team can sign a maximum of six, including one from the Asian quota, but play only four.
Since its inception in 2014, almost every season of the Indian Super League (ISL) has been decided by the quality of foreign players in each of the competing teams.
From Spanish ace Luis Garcia leading Atletico de Kolkata to the title in the inaugural season to the Adam Le Fondre-Bartholomew Ogbeche-Ahmed Jahouh troika securing the crown for Mumbai City FC in season 7, the impact of overseas players on teams playing the ISL has been beyond doubt.
Consequently, the rules governing the participation of foreign recruits in the ISL also has huge significance in India’s premier football league.
How many foreigners can play in ISL
As per the current ISL foreign players rule in place for the ISL 2021-22, any club can sign a minimum of four and a maximum of six foreign players. One of these players has to be through an Asian quota, from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) affiliated nation.
In an ISL match, a club can only field a maximum of four overseas players at any time, including one Asian quota player.
A coach can also opt to play less than four foreigners. For instance, East Bengal’s former caretaker coach Rennedy Singh named an all-Indian starting XI for the Red and Golds’ ISL 2021-22 match against Jamshedpur FC in January.
ISL foreign players rule evolution since 2014
The ISL’s foreign players rule, however, has constantly been modified over the years.
During its inaugural year in 2014, teams were allowed to sign a minimum of nine and a maximum of 11 overseas players while the limit on foreigners allowed in a Playing XI at any given time was capped to six.
Starting from ISL 2017-18, the limit was reviewed. The maximum number of overseas signings was brought down to eight while on-field foreign players were reduced to five.
From the 2019-20 season, teams were required to register at least six foreigners in their squad, with a maximum of seven. Signing an Asian quota player was mandated from the 2020-21 season.
The number of signings and the maximum number of foreign players allowed in the playing XI was further reduced ahead of the ISL 2021-22 season.
The reason behind the gradual decrease in the number of foreigners allowed in the ISL is to increase playing chances of Indian players and thereby slowly build up an indigenous talent pool for the Indian national team.
The number of foreign players in the ISL was higher in the initial seasons to increase the popularity of the league among fans.
From the 2021-22 season, the ISL organisers implemented the 3+1 foreign players rule, which requires any one of the four on-field foreigners to be from an AFC-affiliated nation.
Implementation of the rule ensures compliance with the Asian federation’s regulations as all AFC tournaments like the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League follow the 3+1 guideline. Various top-tier leagues in other Asian countries also abide by the 3+1 foreign players rule.