Degtyarev signed an order to tighten the limit on foreign players in the RPL

The Russian Ministry of Sports has approved changes to the rules of the limit for foreign players in the Russian Premier League (RPL), which will take effect from the 2026/27 season. This was announced on April 24 by the Minister of Sports of Russia, the head of the Olympic Committee of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyarev.

"Today, during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Premier League clubs, I signed an order to change the limit on foreign players," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

In accordance with the new requirements, the number of foreign players in the application will be reduced to 12, and no more than seven will be able to be on the field.

It is noted that the total budget of the RPL clubs exceeds 120 billion rubles, of which, according to him, from 70 to 80% are of direct or indirect state origin. At the same time, according to open data, up to 70% of the clubs' budget is spent on paying foreign players.

Two in one: Degtyarev was offered to introduce a limit on foreign coaches

This idea was suggested by the former mentors of the Russian national team — Gazzaev, Semin and Cherchesov.

Degtyarev said on April 13 that the tightening of the limit on foreign players in the Russian Premier League would be a historic chance for the development of youth football. According to him, now some teams are releasing the maximum number of "mediocre quality" legionnaires onto the field, who do not benefit Russian football.

At the same time, it was noted that the RPL intends to tighten the limits on the number of foreign foreign players from next season. In January, Degtyarev notified that regulating the number of foreigners is an important tool for the state to influence the personnel policy of clubs and the introduction of Russian players into football.