Trini talent!
Speaking of which.....he still eligible? I know he played a game for the US once but someone mentioned a clause that yuh only tied if its an official FIFA tournament or something like that. Might be a moot point...buh....i still want to get it clarified.
As far as I'm aware the rules haven't changed....and they were, if you have played in an offical tournament (regardless of age group), be it the qualifiers or the finals eligibility comes into question. If you were under 21 at time as long as you switch allegiances before you pass 21 you ok. If you don't or were over 21 then yuh stuck to that nation fuh good. When it comes to offical internationals, friendlies doh count regardless of age. So it depends on what type of game he played in fuh the US as he is now over 21.
But I have to ask the question.....Does he even want to play for T&T?
Friendly internationals DO count!!
or was that just a typo?
Yep yuh right, my bad, as of 2004.......they do count. Here is the offical FIFA stance with the relevant section highlighted.
"1. Any person holding the nationality of a country is eligible to play for the representative teams of the Association of his country. The Executive Committee shall decide on the conditions of eligibility for any Player whose nationality entitles him to represent more than one Association.
"2. As a general rule, any Player who has already represented one Association (either in full or in part) in an official competition of any category may not play an international match with another Association team.
"3. If a Player has more than one nationality, or if a Player acquires a new nationality, or if the Player is eligible to play for several Association teams due to his nationality, the following exceptions apply:
"(a) Up to his 21st birthday, a player may only once request changing the Association for which he is eligible to play international matches.
A Player may exercise this right to change Associations only if he has not played at “A” international level for his current Association and if, at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition of any other category, he already had such nationalities. Changing Associations is not permitted during the preliminary competition of a FIFA competition, continental championship or Olympic Tournaments if a player has already been fielded in a match of one of these competitions.
"(b) Any Player who has already acquired eligibility to play for one Association but has another nationality imposed upon him by a government authority, is also entitled to change associations. This provision is not subject to any age limits.
"4. Any Player who wishes to exercise this right to change Associations shall submit a written and substantiated request to the FIFA general secretariat. After submitting the request, the player is no longer qualified to play for his current Association’s team. The Players’ Status Committee shall decide on the request. The committee’s decision may be brought before the Appeal Committee. The Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players contain more detailed provisions.
"5. Any Players who have already had their 21st birthday at the time of implementation of these provisions and who fulfil the requirements in par. 3 (a) are also entitled to submit such a request to change Associations. This entitlement will expire definitively twelve months after implementation of this provision."
