“It’s a personal choice which should be left up to the individual" - The Nuances of International Football

 12^th June 2002. England are playing Nigeria in the group stage of the World Cup - the first international game that I can remember watching. At lunchtime, my primary school had set up a TV in the main hall for pupils to watch the match. Even for 4-11 year olds, the atmosphere was raucous as a whole room of children roar on England to victory. Almost a whole room.

Two children sit together away from the main pack cheering on the other team – me and my older brother.

He, like the rest of my family, was born in Nigeria and moved to England as a two year old, whereas I was born in Manchester and have only ever known growing up in England. Even as a five year old I remember thinking that I didn’t know who I wanted to win; I wanted to support England along with all of my friends and the entire school, but I also didn’t want my family to be sad if Nigeria lost.

My brother must have had similar feelings, as by the second half he had opted to sit with his friends and cheer on England, leaving me as the sole cheerleader for the other team – even if I didn’t really want to be.

Thankfully the match finished 0-0 so everybody could go home equally satisfied, but that feeling of confliction is one that would follow me throughout my formative years. 

However, I'm not a professional footballer, which means that the nuances surrounding my heritage and upbringing aren't up for public discussion.

Despite all the evidence suggesting that it probably shouldn’t, international football continued during 2020. Whilst the international break can feel like an unwelcome nuisance for fans at times, it still means a great deal to the players chosen to represent their countries.

One of the more interesting fixtures that England were involved in this year came at Wembley against Republic of Ireland in November. A fierce rivalry dulled by the lack of fans, yet the match was fairly non-dramatic with England ending up comfortable winners with a 3-0 victory.

Before the game, a lot of talk was flying around social media about two England players who had switched allegiances from junior football – Jack Grealish who started the match, and Declan Rice who was an unused substitute.

Grealish is a former FAI Under 21 Player of the Year, and Rice has three senior caps for Ireland to his name – yet both have since become regular fixtures in the England team.

Mostly tongue-in-cheek, but there were many comments implying both players were traitors for turning their backs on their Irish roots. But does anybody have the right to lecture a player about which country they want to play for?

Leroy Rosenior doesn’t believe so. The former QPR, Fulham, West Ham and Bristol City striker knows exactly what it’s like to be in that position. Despite representing England up to under 21 level, Rosenior’s senior international caps came for Sierra Leone.

“During my playing career my father told me not to get involved with the Sierra Leone national association because it wasn’t very well run, but I always wanted to.

“It wasn’t an explicit choice between England and Sierra Leone. I played up until under 21 with England, but I was never going to get the opportunity to play for the seniors after I had a bad injury at Bristol City. Coming to the end of my career I was asked to go and play, and I thought I wanted to take that opportunity.

“The chances of playing for England when I decided to play for Sierra Leone were zero so I really wanted to do it. I thought it would be a terrific experience and it was something that was always in the back of my mind. I was asked and I decided to take the opportunity – I’m really glad that I did.”

There have been a few players of dual nationality to make their England debuts in the last 18 months.

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Chelsea duo Tammy Abraham and Fikay Tomori have all worn the Three Lions shirt despite being eligible for Nigeria (and Canada in Tomori’s case).

Players have gone the other way as well. Lagos born Alex Iwobi represented England up to under 18 level before turning out for the country of his birth. Wilfried Zaha is a regular for the Ivory Coast in spite of his two England caps. Lancaster born Scott McTominay will be going to Euro 2021 with Scotland, and Hull born Dan James emulated Ryan Giggs by playing for the Welsh national team.

There are countless examples to show that there’s no cut and dry formula for deciding which country a player should play for.

“It’s an individual decision,” Rosenior added.

“For certain people sometimes it’s as simple as who you’re playing with, so peer pressure comes into it as well. For others it’s a lot to do with upbringing and family. For a lot of players it’s their grandfather is a certain nationality, and they want to represent him.

“I think it’s a massive decision, and players would take advice from many different sources to make that decision. You can put the options on the table but at the end of the day playing for your national side is something from the heart, about how you feel, how it makes you feel in terms of your pride in the nation who you represent. You have to go with your heart rather than your head.”

Fifa's rules stated that players were free to switch international allegiances before playing a competitive senior fixture for a country. This has since been amended to say that players are allowed to make the change if they have played no more than three competitive matches at senior level bfore turning 21.

Naturally fans will have their own opinions about which country a player should declare for, thinking it’s more of a straightforward decision than it actually is. However when that opinion turns into abuse and vitriol aimed at a player for making the ‘wrong’ decision, that’s when things become problematic.

"You look at Jack Grealish. Typical Irish name, but he was brought up as a Villa supporter. Brought up in the Midlands, so he’ll be strongly influenced by those people who are mostly England supporters. I’m guessing that’s why he came to that decision and it’s totally understandable."

“They’re not in that situation and they haven’t lived his life. If you take things at face value, nothing is that simple. We assume things about people and why they make decisions – we have no idea why they make decision. Maybe they could question it or be upset but anger shouldn’t come into it.

“It’s a personal choice which should be left up to the individual. When the media start to get involved and influence people to have a go at players for switching allegiances it’s totally out of order.”

No matter how much talk and controversy surrounds a player’s choice, the fact remains the same representing your country is an incredibly special achievement for anybody - no matter which country a player identifies with the strongest.

“I remember when I pulled on that England schoolboys shirt it was the most amazing feeling ever. The shirt and cap are still somewhere in my mom’s loft. That feeling will never change. It should be romanticised because it’s an amazing feeling. And when I pulled on the shirt for the Sierra Leone national team it felt exactly the same.

“It’s not something that happens very often. It happens to a minuscule percentage of people in the world. That’s why it should always be down to the individual’s choice. It’s an indescribable feeling whenever you represent your country at any sport. It’s unique in so many ways. I’m fortunate to have done it twice for two different countries.”