That's not necessarily true. My player has 3 citizenships but not eligible to play for one of those countries under FIFA rules.
D1 college soccer under threat
- Thread starter jpeter
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That's not necessarily true. My player has 3 citizenships but not eligible to play for one of those countries under FIFA rules.
MacDre
PREMIER
I think I still apply under the plain meaning of the statue because my grandparents were born in the UK.
However, I do wonder how they are defining has “lived”on the territory. It seems this is a very low bar for someone that has valid passport to show they have merely lived somewhere for 2 years.
Tell us about France again.
MacDre
PREMIER
N
Not sure about France. I just know my wife’s family has strong ties to France. However, I suspect for example, that if my kid studied French in France for 2 years that she would qualify for expedited French citizenship due to strong familial ties.
Clearly reads that the player's grandparent must be born in the particular country, not the player's parent's grandparent.
Agree that the 2 year requirement is the one criterion that is controllable.
MacDre
PREMIER
Also, I think we have to look at the “legislative intent” of this article and why it was enacted to avoid an arbitrary unjust result.
Familial ties? The French left Canada about 1760. Do your ties go back that far?
Kicknit22
GOLD
Huh??
MacDre
PREMIER
I’m not sure; but she currently has lots of family in Nova Scotia and France.
I understand Spain is not France but Mexicans or Colombians can receive expedited Spanish citizenship due to being citizens of a former Spanish colony.
MacDre
PREMIER
I would like to know how grandparent is defined. I think a narrow definition could exclude great-grandparents but a broader definition could include great-grandparents.
Coocoo.
SoccerJones
SILVER
Really? how interesting...I never knew that. What about other countries, including central and south american countries that were colonized by Spain (if there are/were any)?
MacDre
PREMIER
I believe it applies to ALL former Spanish colonies and Brazil. I think Diego Costa is an example of a Brazilian that qualified.
Brazil was never a Spanish Colony.
MacDre
PREMIER
That’s why I said *and*; Brazil was a Portuguese colony.
Portugal does it too?
MacDre
PREMIER
I’m not sure. But most countries have a process where you can appeal to the discretion of immigration officials for citizenship.
I don’t think a talented Brazilian would have much difficulty attaining citizenship from Portugal. Maybe the issue has yet to be raised because most Latin American players have gravitated towards Spain.
Portugal was part of Spain for a while, from 1580 to 1640. During that time, Brazil was Spanish.
Not sure that fact alone is enough to let me play for Spanish national team, but I can dream.
The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, negotiated by Pope Alexander VI, awarded east-coast Brazil to Portugal. They eventually expanded westward since there was no real opposition from other European colonialists in the Amazon Basin.
My experience is with an under 18 player (minor). It's a formal application to FIFA that can only be prepared by a country's federation (e.g. FFA, FA). Solicitors do the application and they are only going to do it if the player has been on their radar and the youth nat team coach wants to select them for an international qualifying tournament or youth nat team camp. You have to show proof of nationality as well as living, studying and being connected to the community in that country for at least 5 years. Once they receive the application FIFA then contacts the other countries' federations and they need to respond that the player never represented their country, etc. FIFA reviews and then approves/rejects the application. The process took several months for my player. Not sure how it works for older (over 18) players (e.g. Sofia Huerta, Sydney LeRoux).