TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s university sports authority said it will cap the number of foreign students allowed on the court during basketball games starting in 2024.

UDN reported that the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation said on Thursday (Dec. 7) that only one foreign student will be allowed on the court per quarter during University Basketball Association (UBA) games, starting next year. However, no limit will be placed on the total number of foreign players allowed on one UBA team.

National Formosa University has five international students on its basketball team and also tops the UBA leaderboard. The team’s coach Lu Yu-cheng (盧譽誠) said he was aware the change was coming, and he said this year will serve as a transitional period.

Lu said he hopes the foreign students on the team can help local students get better at the sport, and that local students can maintain competitiveness. Three of the university’s five foreign players will graduate at the end of this year, leaving a U.S. center and guard on the team.

Lu said that having five foreign players on the team was the result of local team members being injured, and it was not an intentional choice. However, he said that the foreign players were able to impart experience to their local teammates, and the exchange had been positive.