Football is a global game and we have seen the transformation of international football in the last few decades with many foreign-born players donning the national colours of different countries. Many football fans regularly ask about the rules on the eligibility to represent a national team. I would like to give you an insight to the FIFA statutes and rules, which is essential to understand the eligibility of footballers to represent a national team.

Many major countries like Germany, Netherlands, France and many more reflect their new national identity through their respective national teams. Second and third generation immigrants are an essential part of the society and the likes of Zinedine Zidane or Mesut Özil are just two of them. These players grew up as immigrants and they have come out of the youth systems of the respective national football associations. There is nothing special about these players representing the country they were born in.

But we are able to witness the rise of a different sort of multi-cultural national teams in the last decade as many nations in Asia or Africa have identified a new way to reach their goals: The naturalization of foreign-born players! We have seen many countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and most recently Qatar taking on the field with many “foreigners” in their ranks. There have been enough discussions about the sincerity and national identification of these naturalized players in the past. And India could face the same issue very soon, as Nigerian striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie has expressed his interest to represent the Indian national football team and to become the first foreign-origin player to play for Team India.

Okolie is one of the most prolific players Indian football has seen. The 26-year old Mohun Bagan AC player has been playing his football in India since 2001, when he joined Mohammedan Sporting Club. He had a short spell with Bangladesh outfit Muktijoddha Sangsad KS in 2004, before he returned to India to join Churchill Brothers SC a year later.

Many football fans were delighted to hear Odafe’s interest to represent India, while others were sceptical about naturalizing a foreign-origin player and giving him the preference ahead of local talent.

But is Odafe eligible to play for India? What do the statutes and rules of the game says on this? So let’s have a look at the latest statutes of football’s world-governing body FIFA on this issue. I’m publishing the complete part on the eligibility rules to give you a proper understanding of the whole issue.

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FIFA STATUTES (dated August 2011)

ARTICLE 5 – Principle

1. Any person holding a permanent nationality that is not dependent on residence in a certain country is eligible to play for the representative teams of the association of that country.

2. With the exception of the conditions specified in article 8 below, any player who has already participated in a match (either in full or part) in an official competition of any category or any type of football for one association may not play an international match for a representative team of another association.

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ARTICLE 6 – Nationality entitling players to represent more than one association

1. A player who, under terms of article 5, is eligible to represent more than one association on account of his nationality, may play in an international match for one of these associations only if, in addition to having the relevant nationality, he fulfils at least one of the following conditions:

a) He was born on the territory of the relevant association;

b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association;

c) His biological grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association;

d) He has lived continuously on the territory of the relevant association for at least two years.

2. Regardless of paragraph 1 above, associations sharing a common nationality may make an agreement under which item (d) of paragraph 1 of this article is deleted completely or amended to specify a longer time limit. Such agreements shall be lodged with and approved by the Executive Committee.

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ARTICLE 7 – Acquisition of a new nationality

Any player who refers to article 5 paragraph 1 to assume a new nationality and who has not played international football in accordance with article 5 paragraph 2 shall be eligible to play for a new representative team only if he fulfils one of the following conditions:

a) He was born on the territory of the relevant association;

b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association;

c) His biological grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association;

d) He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association.

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ARTICLE 8 – Change of association

1. If a player has more than one nationality, or if a player acquires a new nationality, or if a player is eligible to play for several representative teams due to nationality, he may, only once, request to change the association for which he is eligible to play international matches to the association of another country of which he hold nationality, subject to the following conditions:

a) He has not played a match (either in full or part) in an official competition at “A” international level for his current association, and at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current association, he already had the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play.

b) He is not permitted to play for his new association in any competition in which he has already played for his previous association.

2. If a player who has been fielded by his association in an international match in accordance with article 5 paragraph 2 permanently loses the nationality of that country without his consent or against his will due to a decision by a government authority, he may request permission to play for another association whose nationality he already has or has acquired.

3. Any player who has the right to change associations in accordance with paragraph 1 and 2 above shall submit a written, substantiated request to the FIFA general secretariat. The Players’ Status Committee shall decide on the request. The procedure will be in accordance with the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber. Once the player has filed his request, he is not eligible to play for any representative team until his request has been processed.

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So a footballer like Odafe would be eligible to represent India according to the FIFA statutes, if he applies for Indian citizenship. And even PIO’s like Michael Chopra could represent India without holding an Indian passport due to his Indian origin according to article 6 of the statutes. But PIO’s are sadly denied from representing India due to rules by the Government of India. The Government of India has made it mandatory that any sportsman or sportswoman interested to represent India must hold an Indian passport. It could be described as the worst case scenario for Indian sports as India is the only country in the world with such a rule…

PIO’s like Michael Chopra won’t be able to play for India at the moment, but Nigeria’s Odafe Onyeka Okolie might be called up to the Indian national team, if he acquires an Indian passport. What do you think about players like Odafe showing their interest to play for India? Does the Indian national team need players like Odafe to advance on international level? And how do you think about the prospect of young Indian talents, if India starts to follow the footsteps of nations like Qatar to improve the national team?

It is a very tricky topic and worth of a proper discussion!  Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comment box below…