World Footy News

The eligibility of players to represent their country at the International Cup has been the subject of some controversy in the past. The Australian Football League and the international football community, in general, have been keen to keep the spirit of the competition to be that players should truly represent the most appropriate country, such as where they were born and raised. The competition is not about expatriate Australians. However with such a fluid world in which people move and settle far and wide, a set of rules to satisfy the intended spirit is difficult.

For complete transparency, we've listed the AFL's official rules below. One thing is for certain, they are far more stringent than those of another sport seeking to grow internationally, Rugby League, in which players can compete for a country at their World Cup if they were born there, or their parents were, or even if only their grandparents were. It's tempting to describe that as farcical, but perhaps in the context of what they are trying to achieve, perhaps they have good reason. Each to their own.

Extract from AFL's official Rules and Regulations for IC08:

8.2 Eligibility

(a) A Player is eligible for selection by a League if:

(i) the Player was predominantly resident in the country of the League between 10 and 16 years of age, subject to the qualification in sub-clause 8.2(b);

(ii) the Player is a citizen of the country of the League at the time when the Competition is conducted, subject to the qualification in sub-clause 8.2(b); and

(iii) the Player is not under suspension in that Player’s local competition during the period of the Competition.

(iv) he is included in the squad provided under Regulation 8.1 (regarding the country's named squad).

(b) The AFL may, on a case by case basis, waive the eligibility requirements contained in sub-clause 8.2(a) and (b) if it is satisfied that a Player is a bona fide resident in the country of the League and his participation would be in the best interests of the Competition. Submissions in this regard must be made by lodging the Player Eligibility form attached as Appendix II before the commencement of the Competition.