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Report: Chinese Football Association to reduce number of foreign players

Aly Song / Reuters

The Chinese Football Association is reportedly trying to control the impact of foreign players in the Chinese Super League.

According to ESPN FC's Michael Church, who picked up a media report out of Sina, the CFA is set to reduce the number of foreign players that clubs can field in each fixture, throwing plans into disarray less than two months before the 2017 Chinese Super League kicks off.

Specifically, teams will apparently be limited to deploying three foreign footballers per match.

As it stands, Chinese clubs can dispose four foreign players in a game, with one of those players hailing from an Asian country. Teams can also have a fifth foreigner on the bench. The proposed change will allegedly see the Asian slot removed, while teams will be forced to field at least one Chinese player under the age of 23, and have at least two in the matchday squad.

Clubs preparing for the 2017 season have been operating in the transfer window under the impression that each side can boast up to four foreign players. Among the most high-profile signings in January have been Oscar's transfer to Shanghai SIPG and Carlos Tevez's transfer to Shanghai Shenhua. The Brazilian midfielder and the Argentinian forward will reportedly earn £400,000 and a world-record £615,000 per week, respectively.

In the first week of January, a spokesman of China's general administration of sport detailed the Chinese government's plans to "regulate and restrain high-priced signings, and make reasonable restrictions on players' high incomes." Chinese clubs have been breaking transfer and salary records with absurd amounts of money.

Related: Chinese government plans to 'regulate and restrain high-priced signings'

The transfer window for Chinese Super League clubs closes on Feb. 26.

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