Let’s cook up another hypothetical case. A player from non-footballing-power X goes to, say, the U.S. for college. He’s played amateur football all his life, he’s pretty darn good at it, but the professional league in his country isn’t great so he’s never considered it as a career. In addition, his long-term career plan is to stay abroad and work at an international company – he never wants to go back (invent a reason: civil unrest or something). At his college, he tries out for the football (er, soccer) team and joins it as a walk-on.

Three seasons under a proper coach later, he’s improved by leaps and bounds and gets called up and capped for his country’s U-21 squad. MLS clubs start talking about taking him on trial. He figures the football career is worth a shot in this league, since it’s a lot better than the league back home. At this point he decides he would prefer to play for the USMNT than for his home country since he has no more stake there. After plying his trade in the MLS for a few years, he takes up American citizenship and turns out for the USMNT.

Far-fetched? Sure. But it’s possible. The rule change is minute, yes, but since the player still has to submit to the naturalisation laws of his new country, the onus – as I see it – is on the individual countries and federations to make sure the players who turn out in their colours have something to play for other than top-level football.

As for a change from one full national team to another… we could invent a scenario for that too. Player A of Country X has played in Country Y’s league long enough to take up citizenship in Country Y. For one reason or another, Country X revokes Player A’s citizenship (this may be less unlikely than you think – I believe China doesn’t recognise dual citizenship, so taking on another country’s citizenship might get a Chinese citizenship revoked automatically. I’m not sure about the mechanics of it though). Under the current rules this would render Player A ineligible for both Country X and Country Y.

Players who have played for their respective U-23, U-21, U-17 sides who now pass the age of 21 can switch (albeit going the ancestry route or via naturalization). On its surface the difference is minute as you said. But it’s the progression we’re making toward a day when potentially players may be able to switch even after perhaps gaining a full international cap at the senior level. Then we really say goodbye to international football as we know it.

I miss the point as to why anything will be different and don’t see this ever becoming widespread.

I can’t deny that globalization will inevitably change the demographics of even traditionally homogeneous countries. Already in Korea the population of non-Korean nationals has reached the one million mark. And honestly, I’m not all out for a situation where the Korean team can accomodate only Koreans (whether born in Korea or ethnic Koreans). But with the new rule, there is a risk that some countries will employ more non-nationals than their own countrymen. Imagine a situation like Arsenal (where you have only one or two Englishmen) but at the national level. That’s what I’m really trying to get at.

I’m not convinced that footballers should *only* play for the country or their birth, or even only countries they’re eligible for due to ancestry. I think the more globalised the world becomes, we’re going to see cases of, I don’t know, maybe a player who is born in not-a-footballing-power country X who moves to footballing-power country Y for family or personal reasons. If he then becomes a naturalised citizen of country Y and is good enough to play for them – why not?

@BD Condell
Sorry if you feel I went over the top. My view is that with the rules becoming more lax and lax, we are on a slippery slope that degenerates international football into a game that holds no real meaning. There is national pride and I’m not one to define what being a national of a particular country is. I’ll leave that up to the people of that country. Speaking from my own vantage point, the Korean national team (despite the lack of riches in attack) has at least resisted the temptation of simply taking on a non-Korean player to fill in that gap. Mind you we have had players born abroad of Korean descent (the son of the famous Cha Bum-Keun was born in Germany when his father was tearing it up in the Bundesliga during the 1980s) play for the national team. But the day we have a Brazilian player donning on our shirt and scoring goals, I will be asking myself “what is the point of this?” Again, my view.

Oh, and I am plenty aware of the lengthy and arduous process of naturalization and am not representing a scenario where an African player could simply decide to go to another country and play for that team. Yes, there has to be a showing of good faith desire to play for that new team which is coupled with going through naturalization. And if that country is willing to take that person on and make him a citizen, who am I to say he isn’t a true citizen of that country? But let’s not be fooled into thinking that players are going to take advantage of this new rule (and that there have been those who have already taken advantage of the switch rule). One day a player will be playing for England whose only reason is not for love of the country or the fans but simply to advance his own personal career. Maybe it will be Manuel Almunia or someone but there is going to be that day when wearing the England shirt will be like putting on a club shirt, devoid of any passion, mumbling the words to “God save the Queen.”

Can u remember John Fashanu and Shola Ameobi once wear English shirt. Think

I think this rule is the best innovation of the game since the FIFA was born. This rule is for the best of the game. Take for instance, those players from Africa in particular who through at times been dupe by agents or through naivety opt to play for a foreign country such as France and are never called again now have the second chance to revive their international career.

I think every person on earth deserve a second chance.

It’s one thing that I definitely respect teams like England for, though. Their players are in it for the glory of playing for the Three Lions, not like the filth in countries like Portugal, Turkey, etc. that come just for the money.

All palyers want to play for their ‘home’ country, it’s a natural thing. Where players do change allegiance it’s usually, as you say, because they are not good enough.

However, to change allegiance you have to either have a distant realtion (most country’s go to grand-parent)to qualify or you have to become a naturlised citizen.

In both cases some allegiance or commitment is implied or required. National associations demand this.

You make it sound like a Brazilian who can’t get into the national team and is playing (say) in Spain can just decide to declare for (say) Ghana.

Not the case at all. I don’t see this as half the big deal you try to imply.