Over the last 13 years, Turkey's economic, social and political life has changed drastically. However, football has refused to change with it. Strangely, while the economic, social and political actors have shifted, the settled figures of football still stand. Despite the enormous amount of money that has been circulating in the game, no one has dared to make a change in this reformist era. Therefore, the old and dark figures of Turkish football have dug their "golden mine" with no control. Just as now, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is only an apparatus for the football hierarchy. Thus, the new foreign player limitation reform will be implemented in the interests of the shrewd businessmen in Turkish football. At least, this fact does not change the correct part of the amendment.
Firstly, the situation in Turkish football, which is the indirect cause of this change, is obvious. Stadiums are empty, almost all clubs are financially unfair, according to UEFA standards, thus they will face serious penalties, and the broadcaster of the league is in an economic crisis. What all of those facts mean is that the exploiters of Turkish Football cannot make money like they used to. The former foreign players limitation rule had a inflationary effect on the price of Turkish players and it forced clubs to pay two or three times more for a mediocre Turkish player.
However, when TFF Chairman Yıldırım Demirören said that the federation was going to implement this rule for five years, clubs adapted and shaped their squads in compliance with the foreign players limitation. But today, not even waiting a year, the TFF and Demirören suddenly changed their mind and lifted almost all limitations against foreign players.
The inside of the game has not changed seriously over the last year and neither have the people who rule the game. So, everything has gone on the right track, but why have they needed to change one of the most crucial building blocks of their empire?
The point is, Turkish football has come to the stage that it has become an unbearable event for everyone. The broadcaster of the league recently reported that the return of the famous "decoders" has rocketed in the last one-year period. Added to that is the new ticketing system, which has received mostly negative comments, decreasing attendance at football games. Thus, some magic was needed from the TFF and Demirören to save the old empire.
I'm sure that the dark side of Turkish football has pushed the TFF and Demirören to both put in and then remove the foreign players limitation. Otherwise, it should have never existed. No other European countries used this rule after the Bosman Ruling, except Turkey. Seeing as, football players should be evaluated by their skills, not by their nationality, this is not just about a petty dispute about "the sake of Turkish football," this is about freedom of movement for workers and freedom of association. Thus, despite the real intentions of the amendment, it is aligned with the universal rules of football.
Secondly, one of the biggest lies in Turkish football history is that "without a foreigner limitation, how can we raise our football generation." In other words, "What about our boys?" Actually, even when there was a limitation, the situation of young Turkish players was not bright. This rule has been implemented for years but there are only a handful of Turkish players that have played at the highest level in football. This limitation does not motivate Turkish players to improve their game, but instead allows them make use of their "special" situation. It is obvious that this limitation has nothing to do with raising the standards of youth football.
On the other hand, the expat Turkish players, especially the ones in Germany, have created a contradictory situation. They were Turkish, but raised in Germany. Thus, they were not raised by the Turkish football system, yet still took advantage of having a Turkish passport.
The new situation is much more ethical and useful for Turkish football. Nevertheless, rather than focusing on Turkish nationality, we should focus on raising players in Turkey.
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