Potentially impossible, but that could change in three weeks’ time.
On September 18, FIFA will host its annual congress and it’s being reported that some rule changes are on the table which could affect international eligibility.
One of them is said to be a rule that would allow players to switch allegiance more than once. At the minute, a player is permitted to change national association only once and that means it would be very unlikely to find a way for Jack Grealish to return to the Republic of Ireland after he changed in 2015 to represent his native England.
Another proposed rule suggests a player under the age of 21 can change a second time if he has played three games or fewer – even competitive matches.
Jonny Madill is a sports lawyer at Sheridans, a UK and Ireland sports, media and entertainment law firm, and he was looking at the cases on this island which see players swap countries. The most recent example is Mark Sykes going from Northern Ireland to the Republic but one thing being discussed is the prospect of a solidarity payment for national bodies which train and develop young players, investing a lot of time and money in doing so, only to lose them when they’re becoming the finished product.
Thanks to @jonnymadill07 for ripping my heart out and not finding any loopholes that could get Grealish back to Ireland 👍
Really like the solidarity payment idea for countries who develop players through underage only to lose them later onpic.twitter.com/E6Yjsvi0fi
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) August 29, 2020
