Watered Down National Sides

Last updated : 03 March 2009 By Ed_ScottishFitba

Scotland manager George Burley has welcomed the prospect of having a bigger pool of players to select from for the national side. If SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith gets his way, non-nationals, who have been schooled in Scotland for at least five years, would be eligible for selection to represent the national side. There is a gentleman's agreement currently in place between the Home Nations which prevents managers picking players who do not have at least one grandparent who was born in that country. But Smith has revealed both the Football Association of Wales and the Irish FA have backed his plan, and he is only waiting for the English FA to get back to him.

Burley said: "
The associations have looked at it, they have looked at the discrimination factor. If someone has lived virtually all his life in the one country and has the right passport, should they be available to play for that country? It's something they are considering and I think it's something that's understandable. In Europe, you maybe only have to live in a country for four or five years to get a passport and qualify for the country. We are not talking about that. We are talking about somebody who has lived almost their whole life in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and that enables them to qualify. Not just because they have been in the country for a few years."

Editor
Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)

Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)

This is Scottish-Fitba.Net