Gennady Butkevich shared his thoughts about the limit on foreign players in the Ukrainian Championship.

President of Polissia Gennady Butkevich commented on the decision of the UAF to liberalize the limit on foreign players in the UPL, which allows clubs to immediately release one foreign player and one citizen with an EU passport onto the field.

" Limit does not enforce football players. Footballers are supported by academies, coaches, infrastructure, selection and the right strategy for the club. As the system works, Ukrainian troops will grow regardless of how many legionnaires enter the field. If the system doesn’t work, there is always a limit to what can’t be corrected.

The strongest period of the Ukrainian championship fell on its own, when many bright legionnaires entered the UPL, and our Ukrainian football players also progressed with them.. Our clubs themselves regularly reached the playoffs of European Cups and demonstrated great.

I respect that the time has come to change the very philosophy of nutrition about limits on legionnaires. We talk a lot about how many legionnaires clubs will allow. But the food may sound different: how to work in such a way that there are more Ukrainian footballers not through regulations, but through their own brilliance.

A strong Ukrainian will not require a piece of defense. Win wins the competition itself. And if we want to produce more such players, we need to invest in academies and public infrastructure. This is a worthwhile investment in the future of Ukrainian football.

We want to have a strong championship and, obviously, better results of Ukrainian clubs in European cups. Conversions that can only be achieved through open competition rather than through administrative restrictions.

In my opinion, the main football bodies may shift their focus away from the development of rules. A system is needed to really stimulate the clubs and invest money among the powerful students.

For example, it is possible to determine the minimum number of recruits for the club in the application for the season, and also set the standard for which the starting warehouse may regularly issue. In this way, clubs will gain more freedom and can ask for foreign players, and Ukrainian football players will not waste their chance, and the club will be able to bring the strong recruit to the first team.

Ukrainian football players have lost much of their ability to practice in the countries of the European Union and in many championships they are no longer respected by foreign players. This opens up new prospects for our citizens, and at the same time creates a risk for the influx of young talents. As the Ukrainian lad understands that there is no chance at home to make it to the main team, he will probably get a less lucrative contract abroad. Especially during the hour of war.

It is therefore necessary not to close the doors for legionnaires, but to open opportunities for powerful recruits. Then the clubs will develop academies, young football players will have a real prospect in Ukraine, and the championship will continue to grow with fair competition,” the club’s press service quotes Butkevich.

Previously, the head coach of the Wolves, Ruslan Rotan, shared his thoughts about Poliss’s first opponent in the European Cups.