When the Vukovi won the title in 2007, one of the most deserving of the feat was their starting quarterback Briton Burge, American living in Serbia who they managed to get on team, practically by stumbling upon him. Although they probably wish for more of that kind of players, the current situation for clubs is that they have little alternative to building their teams through local players; finding them, getting them on the team and coaching them.
Not only is anything other than that unrealistic for most teams yet, it was also essentially ruled out for next year, as no team will be allowed to carry more than six foreign players on their roster. And by foreign, the league means American.
This is why CEFL will, starting from 2008, try to motivate the players to work and practice harder, mainly through the newly established Excellence Awards. These awards will be given to two players for their achievements on, but also off the field, as the league will look to promote hard working and ambitious players.
The two standout players, one under and the other over 19 years of age, will each earn a considerable amount of money, 1250 euros, that they can use for their education, or to continue their education in various forms. In the selection process, each team would nominate two players and a committee formed by the league would select two players for the given year.
In early 2007, one of the more promising young players in Serbia and then member of the Wild Boars, Vuk Vučković, departed to a community college in Mesa, Arizona. This year, the Vukovi’s offensive lineman Dejan Rončević will leave to attend Lindenwood University in Missouri. Although the Lindenwood Lions compete in NAIA, or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, not NCAA, it’s still a significant step forward for CEFL players, because Rončević will leave for the US on a full scholarship.
Now that he will go to the US, there’s an idea that it would be useful for the league to correspond with the NCAA, mainly to comply with their rules so that players remain eligible and in the future, why not, help players from CEFL teams reach that level of competition. Although losing a talented player would be a short term loss for any team, the long term interest is obvious.
The bottom line is that for the teams to continue to develop, and with them the league in general, player development is and will remain essential. On its part, the league will do all it can to promote it.