Ibrahim Hassan, director of the Egyptian national team, announced the submission of a vision to the Football Association to reduce the number of foreign players in the Egyptian league.
The director of the Egyptian national team told the Emirati newspaper Al-Bayan: "Hossam Hassan is following a number of players outside Al-Ahly and Zamalek, and in the coming period you will see new elements from other clubs. There will be gradual replacement and renewal, and whoever proves capable of adding value to the national team will get their chance."
He called for: "I hope the fans will move away from club affiliations, because in the national team we do not look at club shirts; we only select the player capable of achieving success with us. We have no interest other than achieving the best results for the national team."
He added: "Since we took responsibility, our goal has been for the league to start and end on fixed dates, like European and Arab leagues, because Al-Ahly and Zamalek players for years were not getting any rest due to overlapping competitions."
He explained: "We cooperated with the Clubs Association to establish a new system for the competition that reduces the number of matches, which contributed to ending the season in May and giving players a suitable rest and preparation period before the start of the new season. The competition also continued until the last round last season, and the title was not decided until the final week, which confirms the success of the current system."
He revealed: "Our plan is for the league to return to 18 clubs, with a gradual reduction in the number of foreign players to give greater opportunity to the Egyptian player, because we have started to suffer a shortage in some positions, such as the right and left backs and the striker, due to heavy reliance on foreign players."
He concluded: "This matter affects the level of the national teams, and therefore we submitted a vision to the Football Association aimed at gradually reducing the number of foreign players, which would give the Egyptian player greater opportunities for participation and development and enhance the quality of local elements."
Hossam Hassan had previously expressed his desire to reduce the number of foreign players in the Egyptian league to give opportunities to local and young players.
It is worth noting that the 2026-27 season will include 20 clubs; the first stage will be held in a single-round league system
The teams in the final stage will be divided into two groups: the first comprising 6 teams to compete for the title, and the second comprising 14 teams to compete to avoid relegation.
