Indian football: ISL confirms only four foreign players in the XI for 2021-’22 season

Indian Super League’s 2021-’22 season will see teams playing with a minimum of seven local players plus a maximum of four foreigners in the XI, the organisers confirmed on Tuesday.

The league will witness an increase in local players’ on-field participation thanks to a new set of guidelines that mandates clubs to field a minimum of seven footballers at one time from the previous six, reported PTI.

A rise in the number of Indian players means one spot less for foreign stars which will now be capped at four. The cap on foreign players to a maximum four is in accordance with the Asian Football Confederation’s club competitions’ regulations, and was originally reported in July 2020. With the changes, clubs can sign a maximum of six foreign players of which one is required to be from an AFC member nation (3+1).

“Indian Super League 2021-’22 season will witness an increase in number of Indian players in the playing XI, as the new Coach & Player Selection Guidelines of Football Sports Development Limited now mandates clubs to have a minimum of seven Indian players on the field at any point of time,” the league said in a release on Tuesday.

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