Qatar 2022: Fifa rule change boosts new-look China’s World Cup hopes
- Eligibility for national team opens up for Beijing Guoan’s John Hou Saeter and Guangzhou Evergrande’s Ty Browning
- Jiangsu Suning’s Alex Teixeira now eligible to switch from Brazil if he chooses to become naturalised Chinese citizen
The Chinese men’s national football team have been given another boost in their hopes to qualify for a second Fifa World Cup with a new rule change.
At a virtual congress on Friday, Fifa members approved a change to eligibility rules that allows players to switch national teams even if they have represented an age group side in official competition.
The new wording allows players to switch federations if they played a maximum of three games for the first national side – including tournament qualifying games but not major tournaments – before they turned 21, and at least three years previously.
As it stood, players such as John Hou Saeter and Ty Browning were ineligible for the Chinese national team despite becoming naturalised Chinese citizens because they had played for Norway and England respectively in age-group tournaments.
Now, the two players will be eligible to play for Li Tie in the ongoing qualifying campaign for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
Nico Yennaris and Elkeson have already been capped for China as naturalised players. Yennaris qualifies for the team based on his Chinese ancestry while Elkeson fulfils residency requirements.
That pool has since expanded with a number of Brazil-born footballers choosing to naturalise after meeting the five-year residency mark. These include Ricardo Goulart and Alan Carvalho, although Goulart’s first cap will be delayed because he spent time on loan to Brazilian side Palmeiras meaning he has not actually fulfilled five years.
The new rule change offers the opportunity for it to be expanded yet further with Jiangsu Suning’s Brazilian forward Alex Teixeira being mooted as another possible option.
Teixeira will soon meet the residency requirements but was not eligible to play for China as he played in the 2009 Fifa Under-20 World Cup for Brazil. Shandong Luneng’s Pedro Delgado, who chose to naturalise without Chinese heritage or having lived in China for five years, will also be eligible in 2024.
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A number of other players will soon meet the five-year residency mark and be eligible to naturalise to play for China. These include Jean-Evard Kouassi of Wuhan Zall, Renatinho of Guangzhou R&F and Ivo at Henan Jianye.
Among the Chinese Super League teams, the foreign aids that meet the requirements for changing membership but have not yet become naturalised are Evra of Wuhan Zall, Teixeira of Jiangsu Suning, Renaldinho of Guangzhou R&F and Ivo of Henan Jianye.
However, Oscar will still not be eligible even if he takes Chinese nationality as the Shanghai SIPG playmaker has played 47 times for Brazil. The midfielder told domestic media that he would be happy to play for China if it was allowed.
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China have only qualified for the World Cup once, in 2002. Qualifying for the finals is a goal of president Xi Jinping’s widespread football reforms.
