The rules on which nations a player can represent are set to change after the next FIFA council
FIFA are set to tweak the rules on eligibility on international football(Image credit: Alamy)
FIFA are set to take a decision on changing the rules around eligibility in international football.
At the organisation's next full council a vote will determine how players are able to switch between national teams in the future.
If passed, it could make it easier for players to switch nations later in their career, presuming they meet the other normal criteria.
What rules are FIFA looking at changing?
Declan Rice switched his eligibility from Ireland to England back in 2018 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Under the current system, FIFA rules state that a player is cap-tied to a nation if they play more than three matches for that national team, including at least one competitive appearance, before they are 21 years old.
Once a player is cap-tied to a nation they cannot switch allegiance. This is known as the Rule of 21.
Diego Costa played for the country of his birth, Brazil, twice before switching to represent Spain in 2014 (Image credit: Getty Images)
However, the FIFA council meeting will vote on the prospect of upping the age to 22 years, from 21.
This means a player would only be cap-tied if they played the three games, including one competitive, before turning 22.
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In addition, youth games would not count towards this rule at all, should the proposal be passed. The third element to the proposal would see the five-year rule to naturalise a player be reduced to four years.
In 2020, FIFA approved a rule change that allowed players to apply to play for their country of residence for five years or more, providing they not played for their 'home' country at senior level.
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If passed, a player could play for their country of residence, providing they had lived there for four years and met the other criteria.
Should the FIFA council vote these changes through, then 'doing a Jack Grealish' and switching football allegiance could be a lot more common than it was previously.
Jack has worked as a sports reporter full-time since 2021. He previously worked as the Chief Women’s Football Writer at the Mirror, covering the England Women’s national team and the Women’s Super League. Jack has reported on a number of major sporting events in recent years including the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on the ground in Australia. When not writing about the game, he can often spotted playing at a pitch somewhere in the west London area.
