Rookies who have no place to stand in foreign mercenaries
As domestic professional sports are opening their doors, the proportion of foreign players is increasing. There is also an evaluation that it is positive in terms of the economic situation and international competitiveness of each club, but it is becoming a bad news for newcomers who are aiming to participate in the game. In the men’s professional basketball (KBL) this season, which has entered the second half schedule after the All-Star Game, the ‘Philippine craze’ is strong. The ‘Asia Quarter’, which allowed up to one additional Japanese player to be registered, was expanded to the Philippines this season, and new faces appeared.
The effect is sufficient. Anyang KGC, which recruited Renz Abando, a former Filipino national team player, is seeing the effect by winning first place with a record of 22 wins and 9 losses. Abando also gave basketball fans the pleasure of watching by winning the dunk shot contest at the All-Star Game held on the 15th. In addition to Abando, Changwon LG with Justin Gutang and Ulsan Hyundai Mobis with Ronjay Avarientos are also satisfied at the top of the leaderboard.
Unlike American players, there is also a positive evaluation that Filipino players can help boost Korean basketball competitiveness, as they can bring in players with good skills and unique rhythms even with the average annual salary of Korean players. Jeonju KCC hastily recruited Jeffrey Epistola, and Suwon KT hastily recruited Dave Ildefonso, aiming for a counterattack in the second half.
For a rookie, the presence of a Filipino player can be another barrier. This is because newcomers can be brought in freely instead of drafting and there are no other problems such as military service, so newcomers may be pushed out of their competitiveness. SPOTV commentator Lee Kyu-seop, who had been a leader at Seoul Samsung until last season, said, “It is true that Filipino players are showing quick adaptability and are taking their place,” but “true cost-effective players are college players from drafts who are tied to the annual salary limit of 100 million won for newcomers.” “I hope reverse discrimination will not happen even if we increase opportunities to learn basketball from Asian countries such as the Philippines and Japan,” he said.
The professional soccer K-League, which has nurtured national team players who played a big role in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, may also face similar problems from this year. Until last year, a team could have a total of five foreign players, including three foreign players of no nationality, one national player from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member country, and one Southeast Asian player, but from the 2023 season, five foreign players of no nationality and AFC This is because the rule has been changed to one nationality of a member country. The number of foreign players increased by one, and the nationality restriction was reduced. Opportunities for newcomers or promising players to participate will inevitably decrease. An official from the Korea Professional Football Federation said, “There is a part of the system that has been expanded so as not to lose competitiveness while facing Japanese and Middle Eastern teams in the Asian Champions League.” 온라인카지노