Brazilian clubs approve phased cut to foreign-player quota, five by 2030 | OneFootball

Brazilian clubs have approved a phased cut to the number of foreign players allowed on match sheets from 2027 across Séries A and B, moving from the current ceiling towards a cap of five by 2030.

According to Globo.com, teams may still sign as many as they wish for their squads, but only a set number can be listed per game. The limit will drop from nine to eight in 2027, then five in 2030.

The top flight currently has 159 foreign players from 27 countries, an average of eight per club. South America dominates, led by Argentina with 48 and Uruguay with 32, then Colombia 27, Paraguay 13 and Ecuador 10. Mirassol have none.

Bahia, Flamengo and Londrina voted against the change. The gradual shift is designed to protect existing contracts and, in the CBF’s view, to create more minutes for academy players whose participation has fallen in recent years.

The CBF also cites an average age of 28.5 in the Brasileirão, higher than Spain at 27, France 26 and Italy 26.1, which it argues contributes to lower performance levels.

From next year, up to 50 players can be registered for the league, at least 20 under 23, with a 25 and 25 split targeted by 2030. The foreigner limit previously rose from three in 2013 to nine by 2024. Foreigners used in Série A rose from 95 in 2022 to 146 already in 2026, with 13 more registered to debut.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”