Underage squads: Best Prospects

Gary McKay wrote: The O'Shea wrote: Which U-19's would these be? If they genuinely are thinking of leaving, then it likely would have happened anyway and this is pure opportunism on their part to deflect any backlash. I wont name names but they are obviously of African heritage as they can not only declare for Nigeria etc but also England.

The O'Shea wrote: Gary McKay wrote: The O'Shea wrote: Which U-19's would these be? If they genuinely are thinking of leaving, then it likely would have happened anyway and this is pure opportunism on their part to deflect any backlash. I wont name names but they are obviously of African heritage as they can not only declare for Nigeria etc but also England. I'm not seeing how being of African heritage would qualify you for England? Obviously OkoFlex is one you're referring to, but we're not even certain he qualifies for England. Who else of African heritage in our squad even potentially qualifies for England?

None of that entitles you to play for England though?? In order to qualify for England you either have to have been born there, have a parent/grandparent born there, or have 5 years schooling there. Simply being of Nigerian heritage, or having an Irish parent born pre-independence, in no way shape or form qualifies you for England.

I know Sotana is England qualified, Okoflex I think first arrived at 11 in England going back to the earliest news story so could well be, Odubeko and the Arsenal lad Ogungbo(?) have been there for a few years. Seems to be a trend with the Nigerian kids moving over to UK quite young, maybe reflecting immigration patterns of Nigerians, some using it as a stepping stone to the U.K. I think its not so easy to get a passport though so can't see them being eligible for England very easily or perhaps ever going by the Johansson case?

Gary McKay wrote: Rumours that one or two of the ‘dual nationality’ players on our u19s are not happy with the current state of affairs with the FAI. Talk of them jumping ship. One of them can pick from 4 nations.

Johannson is the only u19 player who qualifies for 4 countrys.

tetsujin1979 wrote: JoxerDaly wrote: Johannson is the only u19 player who qualifies for 4 countrys. What's the fourth? He's played competitively for Luxembourg, and appeared for Sweden and ourselves in friendlies.

I wouldnt be surprised if the substance of what Gary says is true, but that the player himself is a bit ill-informed regarding how many countries he could play for. 

OnTheOneRoad wrote: The O'Shea wrote: Which U-19's would these be? If they genuinely are thinking of leaving, then it likely would have happened anyway and this is pure opportunism on their part to deflect any backlash. The 21s had to get 5 flights to and from Armenia because of the FAI last month. Wouldn't blame a player for not wanting any part of that circus tbh, particularly one who may not be born in Ireland

Edited by Fozz - 17 Dec 2019 at 11:32am