FIFA's rules on national player eligibility has seen a spate of English players turn their back on their country. The number of footballers deciding to play for the country of their parents or grandparents birth is rising, but the most worrying factor is the players who have made the cut to represent England at youth and under-21 level but have never made the step up to the full national team.
In the last few months Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi and Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant, who have 46 England under-21 caps between them, have both decided they want to play international football elsewhere after being overlooked by England.
Ameobi, who was born in Nigeria before moving to Newcastle at the age of five, was called into the Eagles squad for last month's friendly against Guatemala in the USA, before an injury ruled him out of the game. Pennant declared this month that he would like to represent the Republic of Ireland after failing to earn an England call-up. Derby goalkeeper Lee Camp, who himself represented England at youth level, also made his international debut for Northern Ireland against Serbia last week.
Out of the 24 players selected for the England under-21 squad in 2003, only eight were picked for the 2010 World Cup squad. Francis Jeffers, who shares a joint record of 13 goals at under-21 level for England with Alan Shearer, only managed to gain one full England cap and now plays for SPL club Motherwell after spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Australian side Newcastle Jets. While Carl Cort, who scored eight goals at under-21 level, is currently unattached after being released by League One side Brentford in January.
With the pride and passion that comes with playing for your home country it can be seen why players have waited until late in their careers to accept international call ups to their secondary countries. But more recently the younger generation are choosing to turn their back on England.
Victor Moses of Wigan, who has represented England at all youth levels from under-16, has now decided to represent Nigeria in the future. Moses spoke of how it was a tough decision to choose between the two nations in the press recently but felt he was needed more by Nigeria.
Moses' Wigan teammate James McCarthy was in the middle of a battle between the Republic of Ireland and Scotland over his international status before making his ROI debut this week. Former England under-19 captain Ciaran Clark is now also a full international for Republic of Ireland. Of course the competition for places in the England squad is higher than that of Scotland, Ireland and Wales but this should not mean we are losing our most talented youngsters.
England themselves have recently expressed an interest in getting Lewis Holtby, who plays for Schalkeand is the current German under-21 captain but has an English father. Despite playing for Germany in a recent friendly against Sweden he is still eligible to play for England due to the fact it was not a competitive match. Media reports have suggested that Holtby is considering switching alliances to England despite his German upbringing.
With the country investing its time and money at grass roots level to produce quality international footballers for the future, it can be argued that the FA are neglecting the talent already produced and missing out on the opportunity to make youth internationals into full England players. It is awful to see players like Moses and Clark slip through the nation's fingers when they have buckets of potential.
When players who do make the step up, such as Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere have done in recent months, the country is once again filled with optimism and excitement for the future and what it may hold with these players in the international side. Hopefully developing the youth internationals of today is a priority for the FA so that England can take advantage of the talent they have in their ranks, rather than lose out like we have done in the past.
It is acceptable to think that some players will never make the step up to full England international for one reason or another, but it's not acceptable to think that the English FA is neglecting these players and letting them play for other countries at such as young age without a fight. Of course every person has the right to make their own decisions but England must try harder to persuade their young internationals that their future lies with the Three Lions.
Aaron McBride
Source: DSG
