How can players change national teams?

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by laloca, Jan 22, 2006.

  1. laloca

    laloca New Member

    Aug 6, 2005
    Recent discussions of Rossi have me wondering about the conditions under which a player can change national teams (if he can)? Specifically wondering if Shalrie Joseph could ever play for USA.
     
  2. ElRoss425

    ElRoss425 Member

    Apr 24, 2002
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If a player has ever been capped by a country's national team he can't change. Youth players can change once I believe.
     
  3. DiscoWarrior11

    Dec 27, 2005
    New Jersey
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  4. Matrim55

    Matrim55 Member+

    Aug 14, 2000
    Berkeley
    Club:
    Connecticut
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If a player has ever been capped by a country's national team in a sanctioned event (Gold Cup, WCQ, Confed Cup, etc), he can't change. If he's capped in a friendly, he can change (see Cunningham, Jeff).

    If a youth player is capped in a sanctioned event, he has the right to change his allegiance until his 21st birthday. The catch is that he can only change to a country for which he was already eligible at the time of his cap. So, for example, Adu can still play for Ghana. But if he moves to London tomorrow and becomes a star Chelsea on his 18th birthday and an English citizen on his 19th, he still can't play for anyone but the US or Ghana. And on his 21st, if he's never been capped by the senior squad of the US or Ghana, he's US for life.

    Rossi, however, can gain his English citizenship tomorrow and then have 3 options to choose from because he's never been capped in any FIFA tournament on any level.
     
  5. Shackleton

    Shackleton New Member

    Sep 13, 2005
    N. Texas
    Here's the relevant language form the FIFA statute with a couple of my comments in bold on the most frequently misunderstood parts:

    http://www.fifa.com/documents/static/regulations/Statutes_09_2005_EN.pdf p.60

    Matrim55 does a good job of explaining how the rules work, but is incorrect on one minor point. Rossi has played for Italy in qualifying for one of the youth championships. Thus, the only association he could change to is the USA, regardless of whether he acquires some other citizenship before his 21st birthday.
     
  6. Ultra Peanut

    Ultra Peanut New Member

    Jun 3, 2004
    Achewood
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No.
    Having represented Grenada at the senior level (in their most recent WCQ cycle), he is cap-tied.
     
  7. evanpemsocr

    evanpemsocr New Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Rocky Mount, Va
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If jeff Cunningham ever played for the full Jamacian national team then he wouldnt be able to play for the U.S. If he played for a jamacian youth national team in a friendly then, which I think is what he did then he is elligable to play for another nation.
     
  8. fidlerre

    fidlerre Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 10, 2000
    Central Ohio
    Yes he would, as long as it was a friendly and not in an officialy sanctioned FIFA event (World Cup Qualifier, World Cup, Gold Cup, etc)
     
  9. Matrim55

    Matrim55 Member+

    Aug 14, 2000
    Berkeley
    Club:
    Connecticut
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Didn't realize Rossi had a youth champ cap for Italy - thanks for the correction.
     
  10. X-Caper

    X-Caper New Member

    May 16, 2004
    Canada
    Soundbite: "I haven't even spent two seconds thinking about it."

    Bruce Arena's response when asked about the possibility of calling up Manchester United's Italian-American youngster Giuseppe Rossi, should Rossi have a change of heart and express interest in playing for the U.S. prior to the World Cup.
     

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