The 3+1 foreigner rule is without doubt one of the hottest topics in Indian football currently. Indian Super League (ISL) side Bengaluru FC's owner, Parth Jindal, has now come out expressing his support for the rule.
The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Executive Committee have recommended the implementation of the same across Indian football, after many prominent figures including national team head coach Igor Stimac called for the same.
The AIFF have decided to implement the rule in the I-League from the 2020-21 season while the Indian Super League (ISL) have been told to come up with a plan to follow suit from the 2021-22 season.
The rule states that a club can have only four foreigners in their squad, with one of them required to be from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC)-affiliated country. It has to be noted that all AFC tournaments enforce this rule.
Bengaluru FC
"As a club, Bengaluru FC completely supports the 3 plus 1 foreigner rule that is being introduced in Indian football across both the I-League and the Indian Super League. This is what is the AFC rule, so why should we be any different? (It gives) more opportunities to develop Indians," said Parth Jindal, taking to Twitter to express his views.
Many have argued that this will allow for more Indian players to get opportunities in key positions in ISL and I-League, which will help broaden the talent pool for the national team. The plight of Indian forwards in the ISL has been shown as an example, with no other Indian forward other than Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri (9) scoring more than two goals last season.
It must be noted that Bengaluru reached the final of the AFC Cup back in 2016 - the best result for an Indian club in the continental tournament.
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