Maccabi Haifa Awaits Peter Agba's Departure to Register Andrea Novakovic

Maccabi Haifa is currently unable to register new forward Andrea Novakovic, who signed with the club about a month ago, due to foreign player registration limits in the Israeli Premier League. The club must first sell Peter Agba to free up a foreign player slot before Novakovic can be officially added to the squad and play in upcoming matches, including against Hapoel Ramat Gan.

According to league rules, teams can register up to eight foreign players, all of whom can be on the field simultaneously, but exceeding this limit results in a fine of one million shekels. Maccabi Haifa already has eight foreign players registered: Cedric Don, Yila Betay, Pedrao, Agba, Manuel Benson, Nigel Lonwijk, Tsunami, and Bruninho. This full quota prevents Novakovic's registration until Agba leaves.

While teams can field all eight foreign players at once, it is uncommon to register the full eight simultaneously. Last season, Maccabi Tel Aviv rotated seven foreign players across two competitions, unlike Maccabi Haifa, which is currently limited to one competition. The club's foreign players are distributed across defense, midfield, and attack, with Novakovic awaiting registration in the forward line.

Maccabi Haifa's management is thus waiting for Agba's transfer to finalize Novakovic's registration and enable his debut for the team.