PETALING JAYA: Teams in the Super League can now start a match with six foreign players, one more than the five allowed in previous seasons.
Clubs can also register up to 10 foreign players, with seven being named on match day – six seeing action on the field and one as a substitute.
Selangor Football Association deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar welcomed the decision to increase the quota of imported players for the teams in the Super League.
With up to six foreign players competing on the field, he believes the matches will be more exciting.
However, he said teams must also look at their budget first to see if they can afford 10 foreigners in a team.
“I welcome this decision because for me, there is not much difference between nine imported players before and 10 now,” he said.
“It’s an advantage to the clubs who can afford one more foreign player and they will use it.
“But for some teams, they have to look at their budget before deciding to sign one more imported player.
“Overall, this is a positive development for the game here.”
As for Sabah coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee, he said teams needed to be selective when fielding up to six foreign players as they must not deprive the local players of opportunities to play.
“When six imported players are allowed on the field, the other five spots will be for local players. But for coaches, they have to assess the needs of the team first in selecting the best eleven regardless of whether they’re imported or local players,” he said.
“We also want to have more local players playing at times as this contributes to the development of the national team.”
Earlier, the Malaysian Football League had maintained a quota of nine imported players for the 2024-2025 season and only teams competing in the AFC competitions, namely the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) and ACL 2 as well as the ASEAN club competition (AFF), were allowed to register an additional import player.
However, after receiving requests from several MFL clubs and getting the approval from other Malaysian League clubs, the MFL announced that all Super League teams can now have one more foreign player in their team for the 2024-2025 season.
