Spain grants African players EU status
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Article summary
Africans players in the Primera División will no longer be regarded as non-European Union nationals after a change in the regulations was ratified by the RFEF.
Article body
Green light
The RFEF gave the go-ahead after consulting with FIFA and UEFA following inquiries by Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF as to whether their African players could be treated as European Union workers in accordance with an agreement signed in 2000. The Cotonu accord was signed in Benin by the EU and the 77 members of the Association of African, Caribbean and Pacific states in 2000. The agreement was sanctioned by the Spanish parliament in April last year, who agreed to treat workers from those nations as EU citizens.
Free places
Primera División clubs are currently only permitted to have three non-EU players in their squads, but the change will free up a number of places occupied by African players. The new law will also apply to any future signings from the Caribbean and the Pacific. ”From now on players from these countries that play in Spain will be considered as coming from the European Union as will those that sign in the future," said RFEF spokesman Jorge Carretero.
Affected players
Players affected by the change include Real Madrid's Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra, FC Barcelona pair Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Touré, Getafe's Nigerian forward Ikechukwu Uche and Sevilla FC’s Arouna Koné.