IBF president against importing players

IBF president against importing players

JAKARTA (JP): The increasing number of people playing for
other countries is troubling newly elected president of the
International Badminton Federation (IBF) Korn Dabbaransi of
Thailand.

Dabbaransi said he disapproved of the practice of importing
players and would propose to the IBF council to halt it.

"I will stress on the nationality of the players. Importing
players to play for their adopted countries should not be allowed
anymore because it is against the philosophy of badminton and
sports in general," he was quoted as saying by Bernama, on the
sidelines of the World Championships at the San Pablo Sports
Stadium in Seville, Spain, on Tuesday.

Dabbaransi said should the IBF agree with his proposal, the
federation would have to establish a new mechanism to ban players
from moving to another country and then representing it in
international competitions.

"We may allow players to play for a club in their adopted
countries, but not for the national team. As an example, look at
the Manchester United soccer club, most of their players are
foreigners," he said.

Dabbaransi said the IBF constitution was too lenient regarding
the movement of players.

The IBF regulations state that a player can represent his or
her new country as long as he or she has stayed in the country
for at least three years.

So far, China and Indonesia have been supplying players for
other countries.

As an example, Mia Audina, who moved to the Netherlands in
mid-1999 to accompany her husband, competed in the 2000 Sydney
Olympics although she had only resided in that country for 15
months.

Another example is Fung Permadi, who has been living in
Chinese Taipei for nearly a decade since quitting the Indonesian
Badminton Center in the early 1990s. (yan)