FC Goa midfielder Edu Bedia is not in favour of the '3+1' foreign player rule which is set to be implemented in the Indian Super League (ISL) from the 2021-22 season.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided that Indian clubs should also follow the AFC guideline of signing a maximum of four foreign players including a mandatory Asian footballer. This will come into effect next season and ISL clubs are currently allowed to sign as many as seven foreigners.
"This will be the seventh season of the ISL and (it is) still a brand new competition. I think it will be too early to change the rule to 3+1 foreigners' (in the ISL) because foreign players don't only give you that jump in quality but also help Indian players improve," the Spaniard opined.
"It's also one of the reasons why all the (head) coaches are foreigners - because they are also part of the learning process for Indian players. So we don't have to rush on it (implementing the '3+1' foreigners rule). We have to go step-by-step because foreign players are helping the Indian players to improve," he said.
Bedia also added, "Talking about the ISL, there is a lot of room for improvement but before that, there is a lot of hard work that needs to be done before the foreigners' rule can be changed to 3+1.
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"There is one main aspect, which is working from the base (grassroots) and you have to be patient. This has also been the case in European football. You cannot expect the league to improve in a few years. You have to start working at the grassroots and be patient for the players to get to the highest level.
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"Changing the rule to 3+1 foreigners won't make any difference. You have to be patient and start working from the base (grassroots) and wait for the young players to come and improve the league."
He added, "To give you an example, when I joined a football academy, I was five years old. At that time they taught me about positioning - tactically and technically. At FC Goa, players join the academy at the age of 14 years. You have to give a lot of credit to these players because they have made it to the professional level but in Europe, it happens at a very early age."
Bedia also pointed out that Indian footballers have to improve tactically. "It's true that India has a lot of quality technical players but I feel they have to improve tactically.
"The Indian national team has to improve along with the rest of the world. If you see in European football, there is not much difference between football players in terms of technical quality. The main difference is when you talk about tactical qualities. Now in football, the main difference is tactics. Technically, all the players are almost the same," he stated.