Lot's of talk recently about the likes of Janujaz potentially being able to play for England. Am pretty Sure that Wilshire came out strongly against it last year but the reality is that others are at it. Germany, for instance, is full of Polish born naturalised immigrants. Should the FA be more aggressive in actively recruiting such players? Junujaz himself may even end up playing for Belgium when he, in fact, his family are Kosovon. To be fair to him, I think he's been vocal on the fact that he'd like to play for Kosovo, should they be recognised by FIFA but it does beg the question what if they weren't? Should we of competed with Belgium for his services? Should the FA be do more to secure the services of such players? Or should we carry on as we are, despite others using the rules in their favour? Personally, I question whether England will ever be good enough without us being a little more creative.....but I don't believe that players like Janujaz should play for England. If not Kosovo, he should play for Belgium. I do, however, believe that the FA need to be very aggressive about securing the services of what will be a wave on 2nd generation immigrants. Quite a touchy issue this one, would welcome your thoughts.
hmmmmmm... if they are willing to join the brithish army for 2 years antional service yeah go for it. whilshire is a racist though... so lets not go there his comments were atrocious and would preclude sterling from playing for england too boot. If his kid want to play for kosovo then he doesn't want to play for england does he? ergo... his case is different In short... if works in rugby all the time. there are cases there... worked in cirket, nobody complained bar the south africans so... get over it or jon BNP.
and have another farce like England being good at cricket as they needed SA players i dont know how the feck they work this ****e out but it should be the country you was fecking born in is the only country you should be allowed to play for, not your aunties next door neighbour had a holiday in spain years ago so you can play for them bollocks.
Owen Hargreaves. Canadian but with English parents. He got a lot of bad responses from crowds, until his awesome display in Germany 2006.
Up to now, Januzaj qualifies for Albania, Serbia, Turkey and the place of his birth Belgium, he could also play for Kosovo if FIFA and UEFA recognise it and he qualifies for Croatia through his Mother. If he qualifies for England as well then he gets to choose and as mito said, he has said he would play for Kosovo - but what a position to be in. The Boateng brothers play for different countries, Germany and Ghana [their father is Ghanaian] - it's all a bit crazy but as it doesn't seem to happen often maybe the rules are ok the way they are - holding citizenship of a country and showing a 'clear connection' to that country.
janujaz was born in Belgium but he considers himself Kosovon. So he should only be able to play for Belgium?
yes, thats where the twat was born. if he considered himself Kosovon blame his parents not me! its a farce like SA players making England look better at cricket.
We already have players in the England setup that could be considered to be from other countries. Hell, John Barnes got 79 caps between 1983 and 1995 despite being from Jamaica! Raheem Sterling was born in Jamaica too.
I don't think we can. Eligibility to play for one of the home nations is quite clear and I don't see how you can get around it. I think it's ok to play for England if say your grandfather was born here.
If a player has a genuine desire to represent England, he qualifies under the rules & the management want him in their squad, then there's no debate to be had imo. It's when the nation becomes somewhat predatory that it becomes an issue imo e.g. Jack Charlton's Ireland.....I mean Tony Cascarino ffs...
Barnes lived in London from the age of 12 so he qualifies through that. If he learned and played his football in this country then it sort of seems right that he can represent it. Same with Sterling been in London since age 5. So both fit the eligibility requirements!
I'm not saying its right or wrong, just pointing out that the system is there to be manipulated. Anyone that's lived here for five years is eligible. The fact is, Barnes and Sterling are not of English heritage and they are the types of players that are being discussed with this issue. IMO, the ruling should be place of birth, parent's origin or a country in which they lived for at least five years prior to their 16th or 18th birthday.
You play for who your passport says you represent. Dual nationality fence sitters can **** off. #sorted
That's wrong. You have to have minimum 5 years of education under the age of 18 - not just lived here. All of which Barnes and Sterling comply with!
Not sure that's right. EDIT: In fact having checked it isn't. After 5 years of residency in the UK you are able to apply for a British passport, at that point you are eligible to play for 1 of the home nations, providing that you haven't played for AN other country by that point. e.g. Arteta & the discussion a few years ago about his eligibility to play for England should he wish to.
