Do players become eligible for the country they play in?

For example, would Ronaldo eventually be allowed to play for England (5 years I believe) if he had never been capped for Portugal?

yes if they choose to.

Yup, different countries have differing laws regarding taking nationality.

e.g time in country before it can be taken etc.

Yes, in theory it is possible but in the game Ronaldo would never take English nationality as players in the game only seem to take it if it is needed to bypass work permit/foreign player restriction rules.

That's right. If a player is already eligable to play int he country he is in without a work permit, that player will never change their nationality.

Which is a shame becuase it could happen irl ..... but there are plenty of threads on that arguement, so I won't add to it on here.

I wonder if Almunia will be playing for england down in South Africa in the 2010 WC?

I believe from reading on the forum, that there is an mistake in the game.

In real life, people get british citizenship after 5 years, not english, scottish or welsh as in the game. Once someone has got british citizenship, he is able to choose which of the 4 home nations he wants to play for....

There is a rule between the home nations that they will not play anyone from another home nation unless they are linked to the nationality by at least grandparents.

Neb, the difference is citizenship and nationality. They become a British citizen, but their nationality is that of the country they have spent those 5 years in i.e. live in Scotland for 5 years you are a British citizen and a Scottish national, they can't just choose the nation they like the best.

Yes they can that is why you will find a lot of the english cricket team have south african and austrailian accents.

Neb, the difference is citizenship and nationality. They become a British citizen, but their nationality is that of the country they have spent those 5 years in i.e. live in Scotland for 5 years you are a British citizen and a Scottish national, they can't just choose the nation they like the best.

Unless they gain their citizenship whilst living in the channel islands. If they do it that way, they have a free choice, just like Le Saux and matt leTissier did (obviously, they chose England). Its a loop hope in the system.

I've found if you send a player to a Belgian club to get a work permit they, quite often, represent Belgium at international level.

Neb, the difference is citizenship and nationality. They become a British citizen, but their nationality is that of the country they have spent those 5 years in i.e. live in Scotland for 5 years you are a British citizen and a Scottish national, they can't just choose the nation they like the best.

Unless they gain their citizenship whilst living in the channel islands. If they do it that way, they have a free choice, just like Le Saux and matt leTissier did (obviously, they chose England). Its a loop hope in the system.

I'm afraid you are both wrong.

For the purposes of foriegn players, they gain british nationality and can choose any of the home nations. There is officailly no such thing as English, Scottish etc. nationality.

This has been addressed before on these forums:

These general rules apply to all countries, although there is room for differences between countries because national team eligibility depends on nationality or citizenship, which, in turn, hinges on a particular country’s own nationality or citizenship laws.

The national teams of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are, however, a special case because these four “home countries” are part of one national state, the United Kingdom. There is no such thing as English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish citizenship.

The associations of these four countries entered an agreement regarding international eligibility in 1993 which provides that a player holding a British passport is eligible to play for the country of his birth, the country of the birth of either of his natural parents or the country of birth of any of his natural grandparents. If the player, his natural parents and his natural grandparents were born outside the U.K., he may play for the home country of his choice. Our understanding is that once a player has played for one of the home countries, even if it is only a friendly match, the 1993 agreement precludes him playing for another home country. The FIFA rule change for players under 21 must be followed in the U.K., however. Under U.K. law, a player (or anyone, for that matter) who was born abroad becomes eligible for a British passport after five years of lawful residence in the country, and he thus becomes eligible to play for one of the home countries provided he has not played for another national side in official competition.

Well, I stand corrected, apologies to all and thankf for the info ajdavies.

ajdavies, thats good research, but it doesnt address those people born on the Channel Islands. They are not English, Scottish, Welsh etc., so they are not obliged to play for the country of their birth etc., therefore, i am still sure that i am rigth and players that are born there have a choice.

I know i have read this somewhere before. Maybe in an article about Matt LeTissier.

It just treats people born in the channel islands as british citizens with no link to a particular home nation. exactly like converted nationals so they would be covered by the link ajdavies posted. they can then choose which nation they'd want to play for.

I'm afraid you are both wrong.

For the purposes of foriegn players, they gain british nationality and can choose any of the home nations. There is officailly no such thing as English, Scottish etc. nationality.

This has been addressed before on these forums:

So we won't see almunia in an England shirt? or am I miss understanding?

So we won't see almunia in an England shirt? or am I miss understanding?

We could, but according to ajdavies research, unless either of his parents or grandparents are from England he can choose any of the home nations to play for. If his parents or grandparents are English, then he could only play for England :confused:

Kasper Schmeichel is an example of British Citizenship. He had 2 Danish parents (one I think everybody knows), but spent most of his life (well post 91-92) in England. He was here long enough to develope a Manc accent, and there reports about a year ago that the Wally with a Brolly was investigating his eligibility. Sadly, he declined and hopes to play for Denmark.

Is the Wally with Brolly Steve McLaren?

Yes. If it was a year ago, you should know who the England manager was (unless you managed to erase that horrific episode from your memory).

Almunia related article, says he can play for any of the home nations as well as England

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12010_4349594,00.html

We could, but according to ajdavies research, unless either of his parents or grandparents are from England he can choose any of the home nations to play for. If his parents or grandparents are English, then he could only play for England :confused:

Then he'd already be English though