The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) announced clubs participating in any league will not be able to sign more than three foreign players for the 2021/22 season.
According to the statement, clubs participating in the top and first (national) leagues will not be able to sign any foreign players.
It can be recalled that the previous transfer directive allowed clubs to sign five foreign players, and three were allowed to be included in the match day squad.
However, from now on, Ethiopian Premier League (EPL) clubs can only sign three players.
Following the growing number of foreign players in the EPL, there have been complaints that local players are being overlooked. This has also made it difficult for the national team to find a goalkeeper and an attacker, with clubs favoring to sign foreign goalkeepers.
Following the new changes to transfer policies, the EFF announced that it has started to provide trainings on player transfers and registration applications.
According to the EFF, Dire Dawa, Adama, Sebeta, St. George, Defense, Arba Minch, Fasil, Hawassa, Sidama, and Bahir Dar football clubs took part in the first day of the training.
The training is based on theory and practice, helping clubs to keep track of players’ age and other information regularly, as well as during international competitions.
FIFA’s TMS manager and FIFA liaison officer, Zewdenesh Yirdaw, said the training will help produce young players and sustain the development of football.