Does FIFA need to change their ruling on International eligibility and limit a players eligibility to the country in which he was born?
FIFA runs a major campaign for Fair Play. But is it really fair that a country may lose one of their top talents because their grandparents happen to be from a “greater” football nation? Or because they have managed to live in a different country for a number of years? In the last four World Cup tournaments only one country has managed to win the trophy fielding a team of country born citizens. Brazil won the 1994 and 2002 World Cup with a team of born Brazilians. Italy lifted the World Cup in 2006. They fielded Mauro Camoranesi who is originally an Argentinean citizen as well as Simone Perrotta, who was born in England. France won the tournament in 1998 with a host of players who were not born in France. Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Christian Karembeu and Patrick Vieira were all players who played for France who were not born in the country. In the last three years Brazil—as a winner and loser—has been the only finalists to consist of only players born to the country. Italy, France
