A matter of some controversy in Polish football that has been ongoing since this May has been a proposed change in the rules regarding youth players.
As it stands, there has to be at least one Polish player under-22 years of age on the pitch at all times (for context, in the 21-22 season, that was a player no older than January 1, 2000). Since his accession to the PZPN presidency last summer, Cezary Kulesza has promised to reform the rule introduced by his predecessor, Zbigniew Boniek.
The proposed rule change means there does not always have to be a Polish under-22 on the pitch; rather that teams must ensure under-22s play 3000 minutes over the course of the season, and only those under-22s that have played 270 minutes over five games count towards this minute threshold. Back and forth between the PZPN and the teams ensued. In response the PZPN came up with their own demands, such as an increase in the penalty a team would have to pay for not meeting the requirements (from 2 to 3 million PLN) and increasing the age of youth to under-23s.
The central issue here is that, whilst initially appearing to limit the first-team opportunities of young Polish footballers, it actually improves it over the course of the season. The idea behind the change appears to be so that managers face less obstacles and the quality of the game improves, plus any of the financial penalties are to be reinvested in the junior leagues in Poland.
A decision whether to implement these rules for the 22-23 season is expected today, given that the Ekstraklasa season starts on the 15th of July. Allegedly, 12 out of 18 Ekstraklasa clubs are in favour of the rule changes. There are plans for the rule to also apply to the domestic cup competition, Puchar Polski.
The smartest clubs will find little changing for them. In terms of how clubs make money, the export of talents from the Ekstraklasa (good name for a blog, that) is the most efficient, as we have already seen this summer with the sales of Kacper Kozłowski and Jakub Kamiński earning their respective clubs approximately 56 million PLN.
One of the reasons I most enjoy watching Ekstraklasa games is that development of young Polish players is guaranteed, and while these rules seem geared towards making game situations easier for the managers, it will reduce the guarantee that an under-22 is on the field.
The proposed rule changes seem like a compromise that has been long coming. Whether it benefits Polish football or the standard of the Ekstraklasa is another matter, and as I alluded to before, little will change in terms of the best young Polish talents being given regular time on the pitch.
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