FIFA’s Blatter seeking clampdown on nationality switches

IFA president Sepp Blatter will propose stricter rules on switching nationalities later this month to prevent World Cup finals becoming dominated by Brazilians.

The head of world soccer’s governing body said many countries, notably in Africa and Europe, 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 told reporters on a conference call.

“The executive committee will propose to the congress that a player only after five years can become a football citizen of a country.”

The proposal will require at least 75 percent support at the congress in Sydney on May 29, where each of FIFA’s 208 member associations who are eligible to vote have one vote each.

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.

Despite the crackdown, many countries and players have continued to make the most of the two-year window, most recently Arsenal’s Brazilian-born midfielder Eduardo da Silva, who plays for Croatia due to his time spent playing for Dinamo Zagreb.
The proposal to increase the restrictions on switching nationalities is part of Blatter’s overall plan to reduce the number of foreign footballers playing abroad.

Blatter said on Wednesday he intended to forge ahead with his controversial proposal to limit teams to five foreign nationals on the pitch, which the European Union says conflicts with its laws on the free movement of players, risking court action.

“Yes, what I want is to get a mandate from congress,” Blatter said on the conference call.

The FIFA chief confirmed a Reuters report of last month that he would seek “gentleman’s agreements” with the 208 associations, including those in Europe, in a bid to bypass the EU.

“Concerning the different leagues and clubs … if the national associations give me the mandate then I will give back the mandate to the associations to reach agreement with their leagues and clubs,” Blatter said.