Edu Bedia: Changing rule to 3+1 foreigners won't make any difference

The FC Goa midfielder expressed his opinion on amendments to the player registration rules in the ISL.

FC Goa’s Spanish midfielder Edu Bedia isn’t completely in favour of the ‘3+1’ foreign player rule that the Indian Super League is set to follow from the 2021-22 edition.

There has been plenty of talk with regards to the ISL adhering to AFC guidelines and adopting the ‘3+1 foreign player’ rule. It has been confirmed that clubs would be allowed to sign a maximum of seven foreign players - including one from an AFC country for the upcoming 2020-21 Indian Super League. However, a change in structure is expected in the 2021-22 Indian Super League campaign, where clubs would be restricted to having just four foreign signings.

However, Edu Bedia begs to differ on the decision of reducing the number of foreign players in the league.

"This will be the seventh season of the ISL and (it is) still a brand new competition. I think it will be too early to change the rule to 3+1 foreigners because foreign players don't only give you that jump in quality but also help Indian players improve."

Initially, Indian coaches were restricted from being appointed as head coaches of clubs. But, the ISL has now permitted clubs to appoint Indian coaches with an AFC Pro License to take charge of the senior team. In six years of the competition, the title has been won four times by Spanish coaches and once each by English and Italian coaches.

"It's also one of the reasons why all the (head) coaches are foreigners - because they are also part of the learning process for Indian players. So, we don't have to rush on it (implementing the '3+1' foreigners rule). We have to go step-by-step," he said.

The Spaniard believes that there is still plenty of room for improvement before taking any major steps to change the league structure. "Talking about the ISL, there is a lot of room for improvement but before that, there is a lot of hard work that needs to be done before the foreigners' rule can be changed to 3+1."

"There is one main aspect, which is working from the base (grassroots) and you have to be patient. This has also been the case in European football. You cannot expect the league to improve in a few years. You have to start working at the grassroots and be patient for the players to get to the highest level."

"Changing the rule to 3+1 foreigners won't make any difference. You have to be patient and start working from the base (grassroots) and wait for the young players to come and improve the league," stated Edu Bedia.

He further drew comparisons between the levels of difference that exist with development at the grassroots level in India and other European countries. "To give you an example, when I joined a football academy, I was 5-years old. At that time, they taught me about positioning - tactically and technically. At FC Goa, players join the academy at the age of 14 years. You have to give a lot of credit to these players because they have made it to the professional level, but in Europe it happens at a very early age."

The 31-year-old feels that Indian players need to gain more tactical inputs to improve their game. "It's true that India has a lot of quality technical players, but I feel they have to improve tactically."

"The Indian national team has to improve along with the rest of the world. If you see in European football, there is not much difference between football players in terms of technical quality. The main difference is when you talk about tactical qualities. Now, in football, the main difference is tactics. Technically, all the players are almost the same," he concluded.