This is what Lee Seung-woo of professional soccer Suwon FC wrote on Twitter on the 11th. Lee Seung-woo said, “It is compulsory to have two players under the age of 22 play in one game. Why is there no ‘over 35 rule’? Which country in the world has such a regulation?”
The Korea Professional Football Federation 메이저사이트 is implementing this rule with the intention of providing young players with professional experience at an earlier age by artificially raising the age of professional debut. The maximum number of replacements in the K-League is 5. In order to operate all five players, each game must keep one of the following: △Two U-22 starters △One starter and the remaining one substitute.
U-22 has more side effects. I don’t have good skills, but it’s not professional at all from running just because I’m young. In order to secure five replacements, it became a daily routine to put U-22 in as a starter and then leave it out in the first half. Lee Young-pyo, former CEO of Gangwon, expressed his objection last year, saying, “It is customary in Europe that starting starts are guaranteed for at least 45 minutes and substitute players are not excluded.”
The U-22 system is a burden on club management in many ways. U-22s earn relatively high salaries. It is a ‘laughing’ reality that has arisen as the value of use, not skill, has increased. However, a more laughable reality emerges a year later. The moment the player gets one more year old, the utility value disappears. If he fails to develop his prowess to play as a pro, at the age of 23, he will become a high-salaried, low-efficiency idiot.
The Premier League entry is 25 players. With 25 players, they play in the domestic league, the Champions League (or Europa League), the professional cup competition, and the FA Cup. The 25 must include homegrown players, that is, at least eight players raised in the club’s academy. As the number of home-grown 8 players is not filled, the total number of entries is also reduced. Last season, Liverpool had only seven home-grown players, so they had to run with 24 first-team entries instead of 25.
Apart from the 25-man entry, the Premier League can have an unlimited number of U-21 players. They are promising players regardless of nationality or place of origin. They train separately and play separately, but they all have the qualifications to play in the Premier League right away. If the A-team coaching staff removes the existing players and puts a U-21 prospect in the 25-man roster, he immediately becomes a Premier League player.
Korea cannot do the same as the Premier League due to budget and complicated domestic circumstances. Still, the goal should be ‘player-centered, growth-centered, competition-centered’. Currently, the K-League Division 1 club has at least 30 players. Some have more than 40 people. Among them, there are not a few players who have no choice but to receive them politically and financially even if their skills decline. They live quietly for several years as ‘trainees’ and ‘trainees’ who shouldn’t be in the professional world, and then disappear with only the specs of being a pro. The club says that it is not a big financial burden because they are low-paid players, but this is just an excuse for refusing to change.
What would be the result if the number of entries for the K-League Division 1 was reduced to 25 to 30? Professional players and coaches will become more specialized to play the season with a small elite team. If the players don’t make it to the first division club, they will go to the second division, and if they don’t make it to the second division, they will go to the third division, the fourth division, or the university. Currently, college football is calling for the U-22 system to be abolished. Because of the U-22 system, more and more players in their early 20s are going pro. Universities must sacrifice themselves while demanding repeal of the U-22 rule. College football is not a U-League with no presence, but it is necessary to jump into the 3rd and 4th divisions and compete. Only then can college players improve their skills and their chances of getting a job after graduation increase. That is the way to achieve ‘professional and business career through college’, just like the justification of university leaders.
The U-22 regulation should be repealed. △ Implementation of the K-League entry system △ Activation of leasing of other teams and lower leagues △ Solidification of the 3rd and 4th divisions △ Participation in the 3rd and 4th divisions of college football is the answer. As with all Korean football problems, the answer is already out there. While coaches and administrators are trying to take care of their own rice bowls by using the players, our precious young people are spending their golden time today with tears and sighs.