It seems that the current buzzword in football is "quotas" by limiting the number of foreign footballers clubs can include in their line up in games. FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants to impose these quotas and he will have all the support he needs from England's supporters following their debacle against Croatia.

Apparently, such powerful voices have not been heard by our own Malta Football Association's president, Joe Mifsud, who persists in allowing our clubs to be flooded by imports from Africa and non-EU member states.

The local media has certainly not raised its voice above a whisper and the only voices heard on the subject was in Melita Cable's programme Kick Off except that the panel of pundits led by Peter Paul Gauci were not referring to the local scene but to the problems created by having hundreds of foreign imports into the English Premier League.

It seems a matter of little importance to the participants in this programme to ignore the presence of many foreigners playing in the local leagues and to refrain from making any reference to them. It was pathetic to hear some of the panel refer to foreign clubs as "our team" and to speak of them as if they were the boys from the local village.

Imports are not healthy to the development of Maltese football. The old argument that in spite of our football nurseries it hinders talent from realising its full potential is still valid given our continual failure to challenge and match foreign teams both at club and at international level. Ever since we have been importing foreigners we have acted either as the dumping ground for over-the-hill footballers or for sub-standard players no better than our locals or for those who use our leagues as stepping stones to further their careers. This is nothing but back-door immigration with no value to the nation or to our football standards.

It does not seem to be evident to the MFA, the clubs or the government that if foreigners are good enough to play their part with a team outside Malta they would not entertain the thought of remaining here. At any rate, most imports are not good enough even in their own country. It is a statistical fact that in the last 15 years, only three imports playing in our leagues managed to sign and play for teams abroad and these did not include the big guns in Italy, England and Spain but in minor leagues in Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavia. When they ended their stint abroad, they resumed their careers in the old dumping ground having given their best outside Malta.

It simply does not make sense to import footballers, not unless they have skills our locals do not have. But then that is another matter.