FIFA to clamp down on nationality switches
May 7, 2008
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will propose stricter rules on switching nationalities later this month in a bid to ensure that future World Cup finals are not dominated by Brazilians.
Blatter said many countries had abused the current rules whereby a player can play for a country other than the one of their birth if he has lived in a country for at least two years, or has a parent or grandparent who was born there.
“I am not a prophet but I can say that in the World Cup in 2014 half of the players could come from Brazil and we have to introduce a higher hurdle to stop this,” Blatter said.
“The executive committee will propose to the congress that a player only after five years can become a football citizen of a country.”
In 2004, FIFA was forced to tighten its rules after three Brazilian players chose to represent Qatar in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign despite having no connection with the country.
The proposal is part of Blatter's broader plan to reduce the number of foreign footballers playing abroad.
Must-win for Blues - Chelsea will be confident of beating Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but still need Man Utd to slip-up at Wigan if they want to be crowned Champions!
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