Dhaka, April 16 -- The Football Players' Welfare Association (FPWA) reportedly submitted a memorandum to the football authority, asking for the revocation of the SAARC player quota policy under which players from the region are treated as locals if they are recruited by clubs.

The association's biggest concern is that if footballers from Nepal or Pakistan or the Maldives play in the local leagues as local players in addition to foreign recruits then budding Bangladeshi footballers will be deprived and demotivated.

But to understand the whole situation better, let's look at the possible reason as to why regional footballers were allowed to play as locals in the first place.

Seasoned Booters at a Low Cost

In the 1980s, the local league ...