This is is a continuation of the following derailments from "Aussies Abroad" and "Aussies called up by other countries" threads. Barca4LifeMy way of looking at this is similar to yours. But I think this needs to be addressed properly by FIFA. Atm, it's basically mercenary-esque. This isn't just Australia. Cricket is bad enough, in this respect. However they, at least, have residency requirements even for those who already have citizenship of the country by descent. E.g. Kevin Pietersen (born a British citizen by descent and brought up entirely in South Africa) had to live in England for several years before he was eligible to play for England. I guess FIFA doesn't have such residency rules otherwise how would Souttar and Boyle be eligible to play for Australia (regardless of being Aussie passport-holders)? Cricket's bad enough with KP-esque mercenaries. Football's worse. Any bets Qatar and China try to import gun players from South America by hook or crook and get them into their NTs. Until then, we just have to hope that our NT (and other NTs) don't end up with starting line-ups comprising entirely of footballers brought up entirely outside Australia. Souttar and Boyle, fair enough, as long as they are the minority compared to Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy, Arzani, Deng, Mabil, etc.
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