what national team will a player be able to play for great britain

i playin welsh prem atm but i was just wondering why it says players days to gain nationaltiy is for great britain and not just wales. when they become eligble could they then play for wales. could the also play for england or scotland because in the english premship they gain nationality english.?

nationality is the legal nationality... and therefore a british passport

yh but cant they then play for wales.

and in england it is greaat britain they gain nationality for.

As Wales, England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all fall under the umbrella of the country "Great Britain", then gaining a British passport would make you eligible to play for any of the Home Nations. I think there was some talk of Carlo Cudicini filing for a British passport at one point to be able to play for Scotland or Wales.

However, if I remember correctly, this only applies for players who are not already affiliated with a Home Nation. For example, despite the fact that my passport is for the UK/GB, I would only be eligible to play for England, because I was born in England.

So essentially, because Great Britain is almost unique in how the single country consists of four nations (or maybe the single nation consists of four countries?), anyone who gains British nationality in any of Wales, Scotland, England or Northern Ireland is eligible to play for any of Wales, Scotland, England or Northern Ireland.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how Maik Taylor ended up playing for NI, think he was born in Germany but had a British passport or something like that, so took his pick out of the home nations.

Great Britain doesn't include Northern Ireland. N. Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

Great Britain doesn't include Northern Ireland. N. Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

I must apologise. I've done my best to understand what is a country and what is not, but no-one has previously managed to tell me what the difference is between GB and UK.

*Come to think of it, I think my passport might say the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'

united kingdom encorporates the four nations. great britain are the mainland countries.

However, the UK is often shortened to GB for sporting events such as the olympics and football. GB in this sense means UK.

If a player has a UK passport but has no ties (relatives) from the UK then they can choose any of the home nations. One person springs to mind was Matt Le Tissier. He was not born in England nor had any Enlgish relatives... He was born in the island of Guersney I believe, which is not part of the UK, only a British territory.

However, the UK is often shortened to GB for sporting events such as the olympics and football. GB in this sense means UK.

If a player has a UK passport but has no ties (relatives) from the UK then they can choose any of the home nations. One person springs to mind was Matt Le Tissier. He was not born in England nor had any Enlgish relatives... He was born in the island of Guersney I believe, which is not part of the UK, only a British territory.

Technically for the Olympics the GB team represents only the island of Britain, the OCI (olympic council of Ireland) like most sporting bodies in Ireland represents the island and not the nation. While Northern Irish people do represent Great Britain it is due to an agreement between the two Olympic bodies that a person from the North can choose to represent GB as long as the GB council doesn't actively poach any Irish elegible (spelling?) athlete.

you strange brits ...

In theory once a player has a GB & NI Passport they can play for any of the 4 home nations

However...................there is a "Gentlemens Agreement" in place between the 4 nations that states that only someone who was born with the GB Passport can plan for the area in which he was born in (or where his players are from)

Players who come and work in any of the 4 nations and gain nationality are not eligable to play. Such was the case with Nacho Novo & Manual Almunia. Both of which are British Citizens and have never played for their country but are not eligable to play for any other home nations due to the Gentlemens Agreement existing between the 4 home nations

See article http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7702704.stm

However, the UK is often shortened to GB for sporting events such as the olympics and football. GB in this sense means UK.

If a player has a UK passport but has no ties (relatives) from the UK then they can choose any of the home nations. One person springs to mind was Matt Le Tissier. He was not born in England nor had any Enlgish relatives... He was born in the island of Guersney I believe, which is not part of the UK, only a British territory.

IIRC (and just to confuse matters) people born in the Channel Isles could play for any of the home nations (England, Wales, NI or Scots) plus France.

yeah i know this stuff but does it apply in fm

British Isles - England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Great Britain - England, Scotland and Wales

Channel Islands are Crown Dependancies and not part of any of them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles_%28terminology%29

Edit:

From this, in football, each constituent country of the UK (England, Wales etc), compete as seperate "Nations". Therefore, if you gain a British passport, my guess is that you would only be legible to play for which every country you gained the passport in?

British Isles - England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

Off topic and a little pedantic maybe, but for the record...

There's no such entity as the "British Isles". By definition, it could not include Ireland (Republic of) as Ireland is not British. The geographic area to which you refer would be more correctly referred to as either the "British Isles and Ireland" or the "British & Irish Isles"

Off topic and a little pedantic maybe, but for the record...

There's no such entity as the "British Isles". By definition, it could not include Ireland (Republic of) as Ireland is not British. The geographic area to which you refer would be more correctly referred to as either the "British Isles and Ireland" or the "British & Irish Isles"

No, there is a term "British Isles" which is the set of islands including the island of Ireland, Great Britain as well as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Said term is understandably controversial over in the Republic of Ireland and is therefore discouraged. It is a term left over from prior Irish independence, where "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" included the Republic of Ireland.

The Home Nations have their own criteria for playing in their own Home Nation. The Home Nations have a special clause in FIFA's regulations which basically allow England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to play as "nations" in football despite the fact they aren't countries. The Home Nations also have their own gentleman's agreement to only allow players with "blood ties" to play for their proper nations - that is, a grandparent of that "Nation" or schooled in that "Nation" from young (not sure what the cut-off date is).

No, there is a term "British Isles" which is the set of islands including the island of Ireland, Great Britain as well as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

allow England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to play as "nations" in football despite the fact they aren't countries.

Correct.

They are countries actually!! It's just that for sovereignty purposes etc they are constituted as one unit.

The UK defines them as "countries" but this is dubious - the term "state" and "nation" are often interchangeable nowadays but England et al as "countries" are not recognised by anyone. They lack individual formal governments and are bound by the UK Parliament and Government.

You cannot be an English citizen. You can be a British citizen. Therefore they are not recognisable countries by other sovereign nations. The UK is, however.

All in all it's roughly like the autonomy of the Spanish counties and autonomy of the states of the United States of America, except with perhaps a little more "independence", but more intertwined laws and regulations.

reading this has been very educational, however, I'm curious, in FM and FM only (not real life) if a player obtains a passport after playing in England for the required number of years is he eligable to play for England, any of the 4 nations, or only the nation of his birth?

reading this has been very educational, however, I'm curious, in FM and FM only (not real life) if a player obtains a passport after playing in England for the required number of years is he eligable to play for England, any of the 4 nations, or only the nation of his birth?

The "country" he's played in. So you'll never see Almunia be considered for Scotland, for example - just England. Unless he moves to Scotland and plays the required years, ignores the England callup and for some reason Scotland want to call him up at an old age.

I don't know the willingness of players to take another nationality though, but I'm aware of people who have had Almunia for England (shudder) in their games.

What am I? English, British or European.

(obviously a know the answer but some would be forgiven for having an identity crisis!)

You do not necessarily have to consider yourself a certain nationality.

Lots of people consider themselves Basque, not Spanish, despite Basque County not being recognised as a nation.

Lots of people consider themselves Northerners, separate from those Cockney Southerners.

Northerners are Northerners & wouldn't deny their nationality, in the case of the Basque or Catalonions some might deny being spanish (all goes back to the Franco era)

As an Anglo-Scot living in Cambodia, imagine how distressing it that the Khmer for 'United Kingdom' translates as "countries controlled by England"!

Here is a question:

If I was manager of Cardiff, who are in Wales, but compete in the English league, would my Jonny Foreigner be elligble therefore for Wales only when he gains a passport, or would dispensation be given as I compete in the English league?

I think has been said already, the foreigner with the British passport could opt for any of the nations, even Scotland.

As an Anglo-Scot living in Cambodia, imagine how distressing it that the Khmer for 'United Kingdom' translates as "countries controlled by England"!

this is brilliant

ok its all rather baffling lol. i gather if u have a british passport u can play for the country u r based in. so almunia can play for england?

i know there is not much chance of this happening but if a player was born in gibralter and lives abroad, he could just play for any of the british sides?

I have been manager of Cardiff. When I achived promation to the priemership I re-signed Glen Loovens (who's dutch) who took a Brithish citinzenship, and started to play for Wales even through FM says Wales is part of England.

ok its all rather baffling lol. i gather if u have a british passport u can play for the country u r based in. so almunia can play for england?

i know there is not much chance of this happening but if a player was born in gibralter and lives abroad, he could just play for any of the british sides?

Almunia CAN play for England! IIRC Capello said he won't pick him.