Eligibility to play for representative teams

The recent news story of a young footballer, Enzo Romano, who – despite being born in Wales and who has represented Wales at international youth level – is currently unable to play for the senior men’s Welsh international football team, has brought player eligibility regulations in sport into the spotlight.

Enzo Romano was born in Wales. His parents, who are Italian and Spanish respectively, were working in Wales at the time. The family left Wales in 2016 when Enzo was eight, as he had signed for the Barcelona football academy and they continue to live in Spain. Enzo does not hold a British passport. Media reports suggest that his parents previously held Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, although the family left Wales in 2016 and have since been resident in Spain.

Media have also reported that the Home Office has twice turned down an application for a British passport but are (as of 4 February 2026) reviewing their decision.

British Nationality Law

British nationality law does not confer citizenship automatically on the basis of birth in the UK alone. Under the British Nationality Act 1981, a child born in the UK acquires British citizenship at birth only if, at the time of birth, at least one parent is either a British citizen or is settled in the UK (meaning they hold Indefinite Leave to Remain or permanent residence).

Where neither parent meets that requirement at the time of birth, the child will not be a British citizen automatically, even if they are born in the UK and spend their early childhood there, as in Enzo’s case.

As an alternative option for Enzo; as a child born in the UK who is not a British citizen at birth may, however, be entitled to register as a British citizen in certain circumstances. Relevant routes can include:

• where a parent later becomes settled in the UK while the child is still a minor;
• where the child has lived in the UK for the first ten years of their life (subject to residence requirements and absences); or
• on a discretionary basis, where there are compelling connections to the UK.

Registration differs from naturalisation in that it is a statutory or discretionary entitlement for children and minors, rather than an application made by adults meeting residence and good-character requirements. However, registration is still an active administrative process and is not automatic.

In Enzo Romano’s case, although he was born in Wales, he does not appear to have acquired British citizenship at birth. Any subsequent grant of British nationality would therefore arise through registration, rather than automatic acquisition. This distinction is relevant when assessing eligibility under FIFA’s regulations, which differentiate between nationality acquired automatically and nationality obtained following an application process.

Media reports indicate that applications for a British passport have been refused to date and are currently under review. Until British nationality is formally granted, Enzo does not hold the permanent nationality required under FIFA regulations to represent Wales at senior international level.

FIFA Regulations

FIFA, the international governing body for football, has prescriptive rules on player eligibility for national teams. These are explained in the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes set out in Part IV of the FIFA September 2025 Legal Handbook, under the title ‘Eligibility to Play for Representative Teams’.

Permanent Nationality Required

The ‘core eligibility rule’ provides that a player can represent a country if they have permanent nationality. This is independent of residency. Paragraph 1 of Article 6 states:

“Any person holding a permanent nationality that is not dependent on residence in a certain country is eligible to play for the representative teams of the association of that country.”

In effect, a player needs to hold a passport for the country that they wish to represent.

Paragraph 2 of Article 6 distinguishes between holding a nationality and being eligible to obtain a nationality. A player holds a nationality if, through the operation of a national law, they have:

(a) automatically received a nationality (e.g. from birth) without being required to undertake any further administrative requirements (e.g. abandoning a separate nationality); or

(b) acquired a nationality by undertaking a naturalisation process.

Paragraph 3 of Article 6 provides that any player who has already participated in a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition of any category or any type of football for one association may not play an international match for a representative team of another association. There are certain exclusions to this requirement, as set out in Article 10 (see below).

This requirement interacts directly with domestic nationality law, meaning that FIFA eligibility ultimately depends on whether a player has successfully acquired nationality under the relevant national legal framework.

Holding More Than One Nationality

Article 7 covers the eligibility of a player who holds more than one nationality and is thereby entitled to represent more than one country. Such a player may choose to play for any of those countries if they also meet one of the following conditions:

(a) they were born on the territory of the relevant country;

(b) their biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant country;

(c) their grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant country; and/or

(d) they have lived on the territory of the relevant country for at least five years.

Acquiring a New Nationality

Article 8 covers a player that assumes a new nationality (referred to in the FIFA Articles as ‘acquisition of a new nationality’). A player who ‘assumes’ a new nationality under the FIFA Articles and who has

not previously played international football at ‘A’ level, is eligible to play for the representative teams of the new country only if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

(a) they were born on the territory of the relevant association;

(b) their biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association;

(c) their grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association; and/or

(d) they have lived on the territory of the relevant association:

(i) for players that began living on the territory before the age of 10: at least three years;

(ii) for players that began living on the territory between the age of 10 and 18: at least five years; and

(iii) for players that began living on the territory from the age of 18: at least five years.

Changing Countries

Article 10 permits a player to request to change the country of eligibility to play for another country of which they hold nationality. Such request may only be made once.

Whilst Article 10 covers a number of different situations (including a player losing their nationality without consent), in effect it prevents a player from changing countries if they have already played at an ‘A’ international level. They also need to have held the nationality of the country they wish to represent at the time of playing their first match in an official competition in any kind of football for the country they currently represent.

Enzo Romano Eligibility Question

As Enzo does not hold a British passport, he does not meet the FIFA nationality requirement as set out in Article 6 and is (currently) unable to represent the senior men’s Welsh international football team.

If Enzo’s application for British nationality was successful, FIFA might argue that the conditions set out in Article 6 have not been fulfilled, as Enzo did not automatically receive a nationality without being required to undertake any further administrative requirements (as per the requirements of paragraph 2 of Article 6).

If that was the case, Enzo’s eligibility would turn on the application of Articles 7 or 8.

Article 7 might apply as he would then be eligible to play for more than one country at ‘A’ international level (given his father is Italian and his mother is Spanish, he is likely to hold nationality for at least one of those countries). As he was born in Wales, Enzo would be eligible to play for Wales as he would meet the requirement set out in Article 7 (and if he held nationality for both Italy and Spain, he would be eligible to represent those countries in accordance with the requirements of Article 7 as the respective birthplaces of his parents).

Article 8 would apply if he was deemed to have ‘assumed’ a new nationality under the FIFA Articles. As he was born in Wales, Enzo would be eligible to play for Wales as he would meet the requirement set out in Article 8.

However, he can only benefit from the application of Articles 7 and 8 if he holds British nationality, as that remains the first requirement for eligibility pursuant to the FIFA rules.

Eligibility Requirements in Other Sports

The FIFA rules, which tie eligibility to nationality, are in contrast with other sports. In particular, rugby has very different eligibility requirements.

World Rugby Regulation 8 provides that eligibility for international rugby turns on the country of birth of the player, their parent(s) or their grandparent(s), rather than nationality. Previous World Rugby Regulations also provided that a player could be eligible to play for a country if they had lived in that country for a period of three years, although since 2024 this has changed to be a period of five years during which a player has been registered as a player exclusively in the relevant country. Players who have taken advantage of these eligibility requirements include Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), James Lowe (Ireland) and Blair Murray (Wales).

Rugby also permits players to play for a different country, even if they have been capped at senior international level. This requires a ‘stand-down’ period of three years between representing different countries. A recent example of changing international teams is Henry Thomas, who was selected to represent Wales in 2023, despite having previously won seven caps for England in the period up to 2014. He was eligible to play for Wales under World Rugby Regulations as his father had been born in Wales and it had been more then three years since he last played international rugby.

Conclusion

Player eligibility requirements differ between sports and are not always tied to nationality or holding a passport. They may also differ between youth and senior levels in a sport.

Eligibility issues sit at the intersection between immigration law and sporting rules and regulations and may not be the first thing considered or understood by a player who wants to represent a particular country.

Regardless of the legal position, we hope that the situation is resolved quickly and fairly given it is Enzo Romano’s dream to continue to play international football for Wales.

Melissa Haskell is a Partner at Carbon, specialising in regulatory and immigration law.

Rhodri Lewis is the head of Carbon Sport, and with over twenty years of working in sport has broad experience across a wide range of legal and commercial issues.