MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - The British Football Association (FA) has sent out its first draft of proposals to reduce the number of non-EU players within English football by up to 50 percent, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Earlier this year, the FA's England Commission proposed changes, saying that the country's clubs were bringing in too many foreign players.
Proposed rule changes have been sent to the Premier League, the Football League and the players' and managers' unions.
The FA hopes that the new system will start operating by the 2015-16 season.
According to the BBC, 122 non-EU citizens have played for English football teams up until the end of last season.
Currently, sport governing bodies in the United Kingdom are allowed to manage visa applications of elite players from non-EU countries.
The draft proposal states that only those sportsmen "who are internationally established at the highest level whose employment will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport at the highest level in the UK" should be granted a visa.
The main goal of the FA is to increase the number of well-performing British players, which will enable the national team to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was England's worst performance in a major football championship. England ended up being the last in Group D after losing its matches to Uruguay and Italy and drawing with Costa Rica.
