Sunderland’s Danny Welbeck still eligible to play for Ghana despite England call-up
England have given Manchester United loanee Danny Welbeck his first call-up to the senior national side to face Ghana in an international friendly tonight at Wembley. The development is already generating debate whether the player can still opt for Ghana in future.
The Sunderland youngster was born in Manchester to Ghanaian parents and has played for England Under-17, U-18, U-19 and U-21. That made him eligible to play at the senior level for any of the two countries who are meeting for the first time at this level.
Prior to his invitation to join England, the west African nation was working fervently behind the scenes to get his signature with the likes of club and Ghanaian team mates Asamoah Gyan, John Mensah and Sulley Muntari persuading him to opt for the Black and white jersey. But the 20-year-old will now have his wish – to play for England.
Danny, who has bagged six goals in 22 league matches this season, has broken several hearts in his ancestral home with this decision. Already, the media has described it as a major blow to the 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists. Nonetheless, FIFA regulations make it possible for Ghana to still pursue the nationality switch of the winger since this is just a friendly.
Jermaine Jones' case
This brings to mind Jermaine Jones, a German-born American, who played for the U-20 side of Germany and some friendlies for the senior side, but never featured in a competitive senior match for the Europeans. Taking advantage of the FIFA rule, the 29-year-old switched nationality to join the USA in 2009. Jones was eligible for the United States due to his father's nationality.
Therefore, the four-time African champions can still go ahead and pursue the services of Welbeck if they want to because he is still eligible to feature for them as tonight’s game is a mere friendly.
This is what the regulation stipulates:
VII. Eligibility to play for representative teams
Article 15 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 art. 18 below, any Player who has already
participated in a match (either in full or in 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.
Article 16 Nationality entitling players to represent more than one Association
1. A player who, under the terms of art. 15, 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 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 par. 1 above, Associations sharing a common nationality may make an agreement under which item (d) of par. 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.
Article 17 Acquisition of a new nationality
Any player who refers to art. 15 par. 1 to assume a new nationality and who has not played international football in accordance with art. 15 par. 2 shall be eligible to play for the 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 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.
Article 18 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, up to his 21st birthday, and 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 holds nationality, subject to the following conditions:
(a) He has not played a match (either in full or in 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 art. 15 par. 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 par. 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.
