SINGAPORE — Thai Premier League (PLT) clubs are studying a proposal to change its foreign player quota — a move that will create new opportunities for Singapore footballers.

According to PLT deputy CEO Benjamin Tan, the league is in talks with its clubs to introduce a mandatory ASEAN foreign player quota from next season.

Currently, each of the 18 PLT clubs are allowed to register five foreign players in their squad, of which at least one must be a player from an Asian country.

Under the proposed changes for next season, out of the five foreign players one must be from an Asian country and another must be from South-east Asia.

This means players from Singapore and neighbouring ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam will have more opportunities of playing in Thailand.

“The idea of having ASEAN players as part of the foreign player quota has been ongoing for quite some time now,” revealed Tan, 40, who was the Football Association of Singapore’s former deputy director of development and planning. “We are discussing this idea with PLT clubs to see whether it is feasible to bring in an ASEAN player into their squads.”

The Singaporean added: “I believe that if you bring the best players from countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, (the regional flavour) will certainly help to boost the following of the Thai League and also bring in a number of potential sponsors.”

Widely regarded as the best professional football league in the region, the PLT enjoys sell-out crowds regularly, with big games attracting more than 25,000 fans.

TODAY understands foreign players in the PLT earn an average of S$10,000 to S$15,000 per month — as compared to the S.League’s average monthly wage of S$5,000.

Singapore international Hassan Sunny, who is the only Singaporean player in the PLT, believes such a move would represent a major boost for Singapore football.

“This is massive news for ASEAN players because they now have a higher chance of playing in the Thai League, which is one of the best in the region,” the Army United goalkeeper told TODAY. “I often have friends from back home asking me how they can watch the Thai League online and they are all very impressed by it.

“Personally I hope that this plan will go ahead and I would love to see my teammates from the national team coming over.”

But Hassan believes S.League players will need to up their game before they can harbour such dreams.

The Thai national football team recently qualified for the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 Fifa World Cup and are also reigning ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup and SEA Games champions. The Thais are also the highest ranked ASEAN team in the world at 121.

“Singapore players will definitely have to prove that they are good enough to play in the PLT,” explained Hassan, 32. “It is a step higher than the S.League in terms of quality and intensity.

“This news coincides well with the upcoming Suzuki Cup because players from Singapore and other ASEAN countries will surely want to impress the Thai clubs who will be watching closely.”

S.League players and coaches TODAY spoke to welcomed the idea.

“This is great news for everyone in the S.League,” said Tampines Rovers forward Fazrul Nawaz. “It would be a good stepping stone for local footballers.”

Agreed Warriors FC defender Madhu Mohana. “It’s great to see more doors opening up for our local players to play in one of the most competitive leagues in the region,” said the Lions defender. “Their pace and style of football is really commendable and in the long run this will benefit our national team.”

While this may lead to fears about the quality of the S.League decreasing even further, Hougang head coach K.Balagumaran believes this is essential for the development of local players.

“As a coach you always want your players to gain experience by playing overseas,” he explained. “If we can’t make it to Europe then obviously the Thai League would be an ideal option.

“A player like Hassan has gone there and improved massively. He was voted as one of the top 20 goalkeepers in the world (by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph) and that is a testament to the quality of the Thai League.”