Time for FIFA to do something about this.
in [World Football]
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From: Abubakr on 14 May 2010 12:36 On May 15, 2:09 am, "Mark V." <markvande...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On May 13, 8:57 pm, Abubakr <deltara...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Regulations need to come in to stop established professionals from > > changing nationalities. One way to do this would be to have any player > > registering a professional contract nominate his/her nationality and > > that nationality stays with the player for life and cannot be changed. > > This still allows juniors to choose between countries that they would > > like to represent in international football but it stops third rate > > (and at time even first and second rate) Brazilians and the odd > > Argentine from playing for the likes of Croatia, Portugal, Germany, > > Italy etc... > > Here's my idea. When a player suits up for the first time for a > national team for an official match, he must have been a citizen (born > or naturalized) of that nation for at least four years. This would > prevent last-minute naturalizations for the World Cup or Euros, but > would also be accepting of immigrants who have become somewhat > assimilated in the their new countries. If someone really feels a > sense of loyalty or identity with the country to which they've > immigrated, that is fine, but they must show it by sitting out a full > World Cup cycle. I wouldn't call the typical footballer going overseas to make a career, an ''immigrant". He might very well become an immigrant in the wider cultural and legal sense but never naturalised in the sporting sense, and that is my only concern here.
From: Mark V. on 14 May 2010 13:05 On May 14, 9:36 am, Abubakr <deltara...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On May 15, 2:09 am, "Mark V." <markvande...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > On May 13, 8:57 pm, Abubakr <deltara...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Regulations need to come in to stop established professionals from > > > changing nationalities. One way to do this would be to have any player > > > registering a professional contract nominate his/her nationality and > > > that nationality stays with the player for life and cannot be changed.. > > > This still allows juniors to choose between countries that they would > > > like to represent in international football but it stops third rate > > > (and at time even first and second rate) Brazilians and the odd > > > Argentine from playing for the likes of Croatia, Portugal, Germany, > > > Italy etc... > > > Here's my idea. When a player suits up for the first time for a > > national team for an official match, he must have been a citizen (born > > or naturalized) of that nation for at least four years. This would > > prevent last-minute naturalizations for the World Cup or Euros, but > > would also be accepting of immigrants who have become somewhat > > assimilated in the their new countries. If someone really feels a > > sense of loyalty or identity with the country to which they've > > immigrated, that is fine, but they must show it by sitting out a full > > World Cup cycle. > > I wouldn't call the typical footballer going overseas to make a > career, an ''immigrant". He might very well become an immigrant in the > wider cultural and legal sense but never naturalised in the sporting > sense, and that is my only concern here. I see your point. But consider the case of Preki, who came to the US at the age of 22, played professionally in the country for most of the next 20 years, married an American, and has remained to live and coach in the US. By the time he'd suited up for the US in 1996 he'd played nearly 400 games in the States. I would argue that, in spite of the technical training acquired in his youth in Yugoslavia, he was to an extent also a product of US football culture. Yet if he'd been required to declare at the time he signed his first professional contract, he'd not have been eligible for the US. Compare him with Francileudo, who played but two seasons in Tunisia, was naturalized just in time for the 2004 ANC when he realized he'd never get a Brazil call-up, yet has subsequently run around the pitch draped in the Brazilian flag after scoring goals for his club. I'd like to see rules that allow some latitude for cases like the former, but close the loopholes for the latter. One concern I'd have about your proposal, too: Eventually, you might have mid-level Argentine or Brazilian talent who might declare for another country at the time the signed their first professional contract ANYWAY if they received good advice from family or agents who gave them a realistic sense of their prospects of ever playing for their home country.
From: Jim Goloboy on 14 May 2010 13:07 On May 14, 9:52 am, b...(a)ipp-garching.mpg.de (Bruce D. Scott) wrote: > Bob (B...(a)Bob.com) wrote: > : Abubakr wrote: > > : > Regulations need to come in to stop established professionals from > : > changing nationalities. One way to do this would be to have any player > : > registering a professional contract nominate his/her nationality and > : > that nationality stays with the player for life and cannot be changed.. > : > This still allows juniors to choose between countries that they would > : > like to represent in international football but it stops third rate > : > (and at time even first and second rate) Brazilians and the odd > : > Argentine from playing for the likes of Croatia, Portugal, Germany, > : > Italy etc... > > : does any team have multiple cases of people jumping country to play at the > : national level or is it just the odd example? > > Rossi, Subotic, and Ibisevic are just three of the guys who spent most > of their development in the US but play for a "blood-tie" country. Ibisevic never had citizenship and only lived here a couple years, I don't think you can say he spent most of his development here. Subotic (discovered by USA U-17 coaches in a park) is much worse. Other guys would be Bakary Soumare, Shalrie Joseph, and Ramon Nunez. Espen Baardsen spurned the US back in the 90's to represent Norway. >Like Jermaine Jones in the end he wasn't good enough. Surely Jones would have been in the squad if he'd been healthy this year? As you noted in the other post, basketball is much worse. Becky Hammon playing for Russia isn't even particularly egregious, since she at least played there. AFAIK teams are allowed to use one naturalized player, with absolutely no connection to the country required. Philippines are looking for a good big man, but sadly Bulgaria made a better offer: http://www.rnhalawi.com/2010/04/back-to-square-one-in-smart-gilas-hunt.html
From: Jim Goloboy on 14 May 2010 13:14 On May 14, 11:24 am, b...(a)ipp-garching.mpg.de (Bruce D. Scott) wrote: > So that's why the USSF > hired her ... to make him eligible to go for citizenship. IIRC he got > it, got into the team, one or three caps, and then that was it. He was > a typical 3rd-div European footballer. I think you're mixing up a couple players from that era. Regis is the one with the travel agent wife, but he got 27 caps and was a first- division player at several French clubs and Karlsruhe. David Wagner and Michael Mason were the lower-division guys from Germany who only got a few caps.
From: Mark V. on 14 May 2010 16:11
On May 14, 10:07 am, Jim Goloboy <jim.golo...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > As you noted in the other post, basketball is much worse. Becky Hammon > playing for Russia isn't even particularly egregious, since she at > least played there. AFAIK teams are allowed to use one naturalized > player, with absolutely no connection to the country required. > Philippines are looking for a good big man, but sadly Bulgaria made a > better offer:http://www.rnhalawi.com/2010/04/back-to-square-one-in-smart-gilas-hun... Funny! |