Foreign volleyball player quotas approved

BERNE (Reuters) - International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) board members gave their backing on Monday to controversial proposals aimed at limiting the number of foreign players allowed on court in club competitions.

Similar to the "6+5" proposals being championed in soccer by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, volleyball's quota system will ensure that at least half the six players on court are eligible to play for the country where their club is based.

In a media statement released after Monday's board meeting, the federation said the measures were necessary "in order to avoid the monopoly of top world players by one or several financially strong teams".

The quota proposals still have to be put before the FIVB's member associations at their congress in Dubai next month and if they are approved they will come into force across the world from the 2010/11 season.

The FIVB had originally planned to introduce a stricter "4+2" quota, allowing teams to use only two foreign players at any one time, but last week softened its stance.

Like FIFA, the FIVB has rejected claims that its proposals are in conflict with European Union labor laws allowing for the free movement of workers within EU member states. FIVB has said it will resist any attempts by EU officials to scupper the plan.

(Editing by Sonia Oxley)