New fifa eligibility rules to go into effect soon

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Red Card, Oct 16, 2003.

  1. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For countries like the US with many citizens with dual nationality, these new rules could change the national team pool, for better or worse. Players likely will go to where they think they will get the best chance to play.

    In the past a country could cap a player in a fifa sanctioned junior match, and that player could never switch to another country as a senior.

    Well here is an article that explains it better that I can:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-fifaafrica&prov=reuters&type=lgns
     
  2. tpm

    tpm New Member

    Sep 28, 2000
    Long Beach, CA
    Good catch. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, although I think we'll be less effected than alot of other countries. I don't think fifa will ever go as far as the IOC and allow players to essentially become mercenaries.
     
  3. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    "FIFA officials said on Thursday that players who had been naturalised or had played in a World Cup qualifier or finals match for one country would not be allowed to take advantage of the new statutes."

    If you cannot be naturalized, then you have to be a citizen of both countries at birth. So if a player is born in a foreign country to American parents, is he a citizen of both countries? Likewise, if a player is born in the US to citizens of another country, is he a citizen of both?

    I can see a situation in the very far distant future where a player who excels at the junior level for one of the US territories (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam or American Samoa) would be interested in playing for the US. Citizens of those territories are automatically US citizens, so I think.
     
  4. sch2383

    sch2383 New Member

    Feb 14, 2003
    Northern Virginia
    That depends on the laws of those countries. A friend of mine had Canadian parents, but was born here, so he had dual citizenship until he regsitered to vote, which voided his Canadian citizenship.
     
  5. sljohn

    sljohn Member

    Apr 28, 2001
    Out of town
    As sch2383 noted, the answer will always be "it depends" on the countries involved, but otherwise I think your two scenarios are spot on.

    Are the junior level teams for any of those territories very active? I know there was that whole Chris Armas question, but how often would that come up? On the plus side, it does means that budding stars (or late bloomers) from any of those territories no longer need to worry about participation in junior level "national" competitions jeapordizing future eligibility.
     
  6. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    These new rules will prevent a "shotgun" approach to junior capping in fifa events. Do any countries (France maybe?) do that now?

    Fortunately for the US, players like Dooley and Stewart were not capped on the junior level in Europe. Now if Dooley and Stewart (fathers were US servicemen) were youngsters capped on the junior level in Europe, they would still be US eligible until they got capped on the senior level (in a fifa event of course, not a friendly).

    Since the US has servicemen all over the world, these new rules should benefit the US.
     
  7. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Wow, now Steve Potts is now eligible to play for the US! Too bad he's pushing 40.

    Maybe if Espen Baardsen finishes his On The Road routine, he can come back and play for the US!

    For the US, this will cut both ways. There are some players we will gain and some we can risk losing. Obviously Freddy is the name that comes up first though I don't see the Swoosh letting that happen.
     
  8. Kevin in Louisiana

    Kevin in Louisiana New Member

    Feb 7, 2003
    Metairie, LA
    Anyone born on American soil *or* to at least one American parent is an American citizen.

    I think residents of PR, USVI, and Guam are all US citizens. I think the American Samoa situation is slightly different (they're US nationals, I believe, although I have no clue what that means). I'm pretty sure American Samoans have full freedom to move to the US and take full US citizenship.

    The interesting thing is that you can't be a citizen of PR or USVI or Guam (not sure about AS). There's only residency status.

    Red Card--my reading of the quote in your second post is that if you're naturalized you have to play for your naturalized country. It doesn't say you can't be naturalized.
     
  9. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here is the quote:
    "FIFA officials said on Thursday that players who had been naturalised or had played in a World Cup qualifier or finals match for one country would not be allowed to take advantage of the new statutes."

    My reading is that if you are naturalized, you cannot use the rule. Therefore you have to play for the country that capped you as a junior, whether it be your naturalized country or the country you were born in.

    If Adu is a naturalized US citizen and he has been capped on the junior level, then it appears he could not use the rule. My understanding is that his mother was naturalized, but does that make him naturalized too?

    Another question. Was Dooley a US citizen at birth (father in US armed forces), or was he eligible to become a US citizen? Doesn't he have to claim the citizenship by applying for it?

    You have to be a citizen or eligible to be a citizen by age 21 to use the rule.

    It still remains that if a player NEVER was capped on the junior/senior levels in a fifa event, he can be naturalized in a second country and play for the naturalized country. He would not need this rule. This rule is only for those who were capped in country A as a junior only, and then want to play a in country B as a senior.
     
  10. Kevin in Louisiana

    Kevin in Louisiana New Member

    Feb 7, 2003
    Metairie, LA
    Okay, I think you're right on your reading of the FIFA quote. Logically, though, I'm still not sure why you would be allowed to switch when you're a citizen of both countries from birth and not when you move from on country to another as a child and become naturalized.

    Freddy Adu would be a naturalized citizen since he wasn't a US citizen from birth but is one now. When his mother was naturalized, he was naturalized since he is under 18.

    I don't think the US has a citizenship-eligible thing like some other countries do (with the exception of the Pr, USVI, Guam, AS thing). I'm pretty sure that a citizen's a citizen. Since Dooley had an American dad, he was American from birth.

    I'm not sure whether a citizen from birth can lose citizenship status. If you're a naturalized US citizen you have to renounce any other citizenships, but if you're born with dual nationalities (US and something else), I'm not sure. I'm also not sure how a child of American parents who was born and lived abroad would acquire papers saying that he is a US citizen. I hesitate to call it "claiming" citizenship because that's a bit of a misnomer from what I can understand.
     
  11. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have this link which may help. I have not gone through it so I cannot comment. Btw, my interpretation of the rules is based on an article, which as we know, might not be reliable.

    http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html#possible
     
  12. sljohn

    sljohn Member

    Apr 28, 2001
    Out of town
    I don't know how it generally works, but I can provide a little bit of insight from my personal experience.

    I was born in Peru and am the child of two US citizens. When I was born my parents took the birth certificate issued by the Peruvian hospital to the US embassy. The US embassy created a new document (in English) which is what I use as my birth certificate.
     

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