24/10/2003

Players with dual nationality will now be able to play international football for two countries after the Fifa congress in Qatar gave unanimous approval to a new statute. The move means that young players who have turned out for one country can change later to the other country on their passport, provided they have not appeared in a full senior international and they hold dual nationality.

At present, the article in question (Article 15 of the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes: Eligibility to play for association teams) states that any player who is qualified to play for more than one national association (i.e. who has dual nationality) will be deemed to have committed himself to one association only when he plays his first international match (or part thereof) in an official competition at any level for that association.

As a result of this article, a player may be forced to choose which national team he will commit himself to at the age of 15 or 16 and without any opportunity to reconsider his decision at a later date. The committee pledged to draft revised proposals for this article ahead of the drawing up of the new FIFA Statutes, which will enter into force in 2004.

The new regulations mean any player under 21 who has represented one country in any team other than a full senior international can be called up to represent another country.


'This is especially important for the young African footballers who play in France, in Belgium or in Britain,' said FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter. He said they could now return to their origins to play for another nation provided they had not made an appearance for their adopted country.

But countries such as Senegal, which has many part-French players in its squad, could now see its top stars being raided to play for a bigger, more successful team.

This fear could be countered by football associations capping its best players at senior level at a very early age, to prevent them changing allegiances in the future.