Consequences of the limit on foreign players in Russian football

Abstract

This paper examines how a limit on foreign players has influenced national football in Russia. For this purpose, the effects on competition in the league, number of new young players in the national team and commercial value are investigated. Both positive and negative effects are examined. On the one hand, a quota on foreign players raised the competition in the Russian Premier League and captured attention of club owners on the development of youth academies. On the other hand, the negative effects included the reduction in the number of young players in the Russia national team, and the restriction in the invitation of international stars slowed down the growth of match attendance and commercial value. Therefore, because of the current limit, Russia became less competitive. However, if some of the measures suggested in this paper were to be implemented, Russia might improve its development of national football.