CAIRO: Egyptian clubs will not be allowed to buy foreign goalkeepers starting next season, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Sunday.
We will allow the current foreign keepers in the Egyptian league to see out their contracts but they will not be able to extend them, the EFA said in a statement on its official website.
Clubs will not be able to sign any new foreign keepers. The decision will take effect from the 2009/2010 season.
The likes of Harras Hodoud, Tersana, Masri and Arab Contractors are likely to voice their objection to the decision as they all have foreign keepers in their squads.
Hodoud in particular could be the biggest casualty of EFA s decision.
Cameroonian keeper Mathurin Kameni played an instrumental role in the military side s Egyptian Cup triumph.
The EFA took that decision to help Egypt coach Hassan Shehata find new keepers in the Egyptian league after the majority of mid-table and lowly teams favored signing foreign ones during the past few years.
Shehata was widely criticized for failing to call up a replacement for veteran guardian Essam Al-Hadari, who could be suspended after joining Swiss side Sion without the consent of his former club Ahly in February 2008.
Neither Zamalek s Abdel-Wahed Al-Sayed nor Ahly s Amir Abdel-Hamid is capable of filling in for Al-Hadari and becoming Egypt s first-choice keeper, pundits believe.
Meanwhile, the EFA revealed that clubs squads for next season will include 25 players rather than 30.
