You can never be sure where the heart of a footballer truly lies, but their actions — more than anything else — clearly indicate where they want to play and how much they’re willing to sacrifice to make it happen.

Footballers switching clubs to fulfil lifelong dreams, increase playing time, or boost earnings is nothing new; it’s often a necessity for staying relevant. As for one-club legends, only a few, like Ryan Giggs and Paolo Maldini, can boast of this privilege. The chances of that happening are slim since player transfers are an embraced tradition given the dynamics involved.

However, when these transfers extend to international football — “national team switch” in FIFA’s terms — the issue becomes more complex.

Players changing national teams isn’t uncommon. This practice has existed since the early 1900s, and FIFA has periodically amended the rules to better accommodate all parties involved. Unsurprisingly, these amendments often spark mixed reactions. But in September 2020, a new rule was introduced that has since been the norm.

During the 70th FIFA Congress, the governing body approved a change allowing players to switch national teams even if they’ve played senior competitive matches (no more than three) for another country, provided those appearances occurred before they turned 21. Additionally, at least three years must have passed since their last senior appearance for their former national team. It’s allowed even if those matches were in high-profile tournaments like the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations, as long as they weren’t played in the final stages.

This is a rule that needs to be revisited.

Some older football fans feel that international football — and the sport in general — has lost some of its allure, but even so, playing for one’s country remains the pinnacle for many footballers. It’s more than just donning a jersey and vying to win a trophy — it’s about carrying the weight of a nation’s dreams, riding the wave of collective support, hope, and expectations from millions of people, especially in high-profile tournaments like the World Cup, AFCON, or Copa América.

It’s an honour that shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, given the complexity of defining nationality and identity in an increasingly interconnected world, it’s understandable when players with multiple nationalities explore their options. But what’s difficult to understand is opening the door for opportunism by allowing players to go back on their choices after committing.

In some cases, nationality switches involve foreign-born and -bred players who, after taking on challenges bigger than themselves, return to their marginalised roots, like Africa, to disrupt the status quo.

“All of a sudden some players say that a country is in their heart, while they have never talked about it before. It can be a divisive issue,” says Raoul Savoy, a Swiss coach with over two decades of experience working in Africa.

It’s a win for football associations that complete these switches and for coaches who gain access to foreign talent, despite the potential selection headaches. But for the players — both those who’ll be replaced after dedicating years to their national careers and those switching who’ll have to blend into a foreign team (though more of rivals in this sense) it’s a lot that could be avoided. 

African football legends like Nigeria’s Mikel Obi and Ghana’s Prince Tagoe have expressed frustration over this practice, but the reality is that it wouldn’t happen if a system weren’t facilitating it.

Allowing players to change nationalities after making a conscious decision weakens the integrity of international football and ultimately diminishes the gravity of representing a country on the global stage.

Laws around nationality switches should account for modern complexities, but they should also be more stringent to prevent players from swapping allegiances for mere convenience.