FIFA snubs Drogba's special loan deal request
Reuters - Thursday 22 November 2012, 06:24
FIFA have
refused Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba permission to leave China's
Shanghai Shenhua on loan before the January transfer window.
FIFA
said they had received a request to be registered outside an open
registration period from the former Chelsea forward, whose season in the
Chinese Super League is over.
The 34-year-old wants to keep himself sharp for the African Nations Cup which begins on January 19.
"Any
professional player who is registered with a club that is affiliated to
one association shall not be eligible to play for a club affiliated to a
different association," FIFA, football's world governing body, said in a
statement on Thursday, quoting their rules on the status and transfer of
players.
Under the rules,
Drogba, who spent eight seasons with Chelsea after joining the European
champions from French side Marseille, cannot play for another club until
January 1.
Drogba teamed up
with former Chelsea strike partner Nicolas Anelka at Shanghai in June
after agreeing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the big-spending
club.
Drogba scored eight
goals in 11 games for the Chinese side but Shenhua finished ninth in the
16-team table, 20 points behind champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
Ivory
Coast, who are on a 22-match unbeaten run, are favourites to win the
Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, which runs until February 10.