Quota limits playing time, says Oboabona

Super Eagles defender, Godfrey Oboabona, has blamed foreign player quota in the Turkish league for his limited playing time for his club, Rizespor.

In Turkey, 8 foreign players can be signed but only five are allowed to play on the pitch during match day and the former Sunshine Stars’ captain said he’s not expected to command a regular starting place, with this restriction in place.

“Turkish league is very different from another league in the world because its only five foreigners who are allowed to play and we are like nine in my team. So, if the coach tells you that you are not selected for a game there is nothing you can do,” he told AfricanFootball.com.

“It’s not just Oboabona who faces this in Turkey – (Emmanuel) Emenike, (John) Utaka a lot of Nigerians are there. So for me am not worried when the coach says you are not going to play this game”

The 24-year-old joined Rizespor in 2013 and has played 24 games since then scoring three goals.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) recently turned down requests to allow more foreign players, but different Leagues have different regulations for players from abroad.

In England, there is no foreign player limit but players need a work permit for the first year. This work permit is only renewed if the player played over 75% of all matches.

Spanish La Liga allows 6 non-European players to be signed but only four are allowed to play on the pitch during match day.

Ligue 1 permits five non-European players to be signed and all five are allowed to play on the pitch during match day. There is no limit for players from former French colonies.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, there are no foreign player limits.

The Portuguese league accepts 6 non-European players but only four are allowed to play on the pitch during match day.

In Germany, five non-European players can be signed but only three are allowed to play on the pitch during match day. But more than five non-European players can be signed if they get an amateur status.