By Tom Ryan

Mikel Arteta

In 2010, Mikel Arteta was being touted as a possibility for the England squad for the World Cup even though he was born in San Sebastian, Spain. Having played in England since 2005, Arteta was eligible to be granted UK citizenship after residing here for five years. This led many to believe Arteta would be eligible to play for England having never featured for Spain’s senior team.

This wasn’t to be. With the FA very much excited over the prospect of Arteta being able to represent England, they decided to investigate whether or not it would be possible. However, the FA found article 18.1.a within the FIFA statutes. Article 18.1.a states that any player wanting to change the country they wish to play for, would need to have held a passport for the nation they wanted to switch to at the same time as representing their country in an official competition.

For Arteta, this has denied him the chance of playing for England because he represented Spain in the Under-16 European Championships and the Under-17 FIFA World Championships. Due to Arteta not being able to hold a UK passport at the times of the tournaments, this would lead FIFA to reject his application for a nation swap automatically.

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Phil Jagielka

Phil Jagielka was a latecomer to the international scene having spent many years of his career in the Championship with Sheffield United. In 2012 Jagielka was called into the England team for Euro 2012 in Poland taking him back to his roots. Jagielka’s grandparents are from Poland but fled the country to England in 1948 which gives him his Polish roots. Speaking before Euro 2012 Jagielka said: “I could have played for Poland but I don’t see myself as Polish. I was born in England. I speak with an English accent. Thankfully I got to play for England. Maybe if I’d been nowhere near the team I might have chosen Poland.”

Things could have turned out very different for Jagielka had he not been called up to the Three Lions team, with that statement implying that he would’ve given Poland a thought if he didn’t think an England call up would have happened.

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Dele Alli

Dele Alli is one of many footballers who have a dual-nationality of an African and European nation. With this type of dual-nationality becoming more and more common in modern day football, it has turned into a fiercely contested battle for the young players. Alli is able to represent both England and Nigeria through being born in Milton Keynes and having Nigerian parents respectively.

In a time where Nigeria is trying to tie down many youngsters to the countries national team, such as Alex Iwobi, Alli seems to be a player that has slipped through their fingers. Alli got called up for England on the 9th October having played less than 400 minutes in the Premier League following a move to Tottenham Hotspur. With this being a competitive game it meant that England had tied Alli down for the future of English football.

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Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley is another bright, young England international that could have taken a different path. Just like Alli, Barkley has Nigerian roots through his grandfather, which means he would have been eligible to play for Nigeria had he not already made his England debut. Barkley made his debut in 2013 which then ruled out the possibility of him representing Nigeria in the future and has since gone on to gain 22 caps for the England national team.

This would have been a real coup for Nigeria as Barkley is rated highly by the England management team and many football fans. If Barkley had made the switch he would have joined the likes of Victor Moses and Victor Anichebe in going from England to Nigeria for international football. With there being many young players with dual nationalities, battles like this for Barkley and Alli will become more prominent in modern football due to international teams wanting to gain the best youngsters possible for the future.

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Paulo Dybala

Paulo Dybala is one of the biggest talents in world football today, currently plying his trade in Serie A with Juventus. Due to his family’s heritage, Dybala was eligible for three nations, Argentina, Italy and Poland. In 2014, then Italy manager Antonio Conte said that he was hoping he would be able to persuade the youngster to opt for Italy at international level. Dybala shortly came out with a statement claiming that his dream was to play for Argentina but if Conte ever called he would have a think about it.

In 2015, Dybala revealed plans to obtain a Polish passport but stated his intentions to play internationally for Argentina. The reasons behind the gaining a Polish passport is to play in the Polish league and with the ultimate of embracing his Polish roots. Dybala went on to make his debut for Argentina on October 13th, coming off the bench in a World Cup Qualifying match and has since added five more caps to his name.

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