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| Femi Ogunode - Nigerian born sprinter |
There are some sporting events that are simply too good to pass up an opportunity to participate in. One of them is the World Cup, the other is the Olympics. Over the years there has been a growing trend in athletes opting to represent nations that reflect their heritage as opposed to their birthplace. Whilst perfectly understandable due to the eclectic nature of many Western countries, fans and spectators tend to display a strong sense of national pride and yearn for athletes who share their nationalism.
Many Jamaicans will remember 400m champion sprinter Marilyn Neufville. Neufville was born in Jamaica but emigrated to the UK at a young age where she went on to develop into an elite athlete. Despite having represented Great Britain in 1970 at the European Indoor Championships in Vienna – where she won gold - she made the decision to represent her home country of Jamaica just months later. This decision confused and angered the British public who felt that England nurtured her talent and helped her find international success – not Jamaica.
Fast forward three decades to the 2006 World Cup when the Trinidad and Tobago football team earned a spot on the world stage. The media however seemed to take a greater interest in one of TT’s Midfielders, Chris ‘Me Mum’ Birchall – than the fact that this was TT’s first inclusion in the tournament. Birchall was not your typical Trini... he was born in England and played for English teams throughout his entire sporting career, however, when the opportunity to represent the Twin Isles via his mother came knocking, he didn’t look back.
There are so many factors to take into consideration where this discussion on national eligibility is concerned. In some cases, athletes are simply not good enough to make the team of the country they most naturally represent. In other cases, the athlete’s standard may be higher than that of what his country can accommodate for. Yet still in other cases, money may be the driving factor. To this day Neufville’s reasons for changing teams are unknown.
Where Great Britain may felt slighted by Neufville, they have more than made up for her with NBA superstar Luol Deng and track and field champion Mo Farah. Scratch the surface oftheir biographies and you'll find that neither of these sports stars are ‘English’, however, they are championed as the country’s poster boys of their respective sports due to their excellence and professionalism on and off the court and track respectively.
Admittedly I am being a little provocative, but that is only because I genuinely want to know what others think of this trend. Should Merlene have stayed with Jamaica? Did the Windies need Nash? Should Cole be considering his options on the Bajan National team? (Is there a Bajan National Team?) How many times have we switched on the telly to watch a track meet only to see a strapping Mandingo warming up in the lane that has been assigned to Qatar? Is this acceptable or does it really not matter?
As always, I welcome your views.
I have no qualms about this. I would not begrudge an athlete for switching nationalities to compete at a major event such as the Olympics or World Cup, e.g. numerous! Or switching nationalities because they can fulfil their potential better elsewhere, e.g. Peter Nicol, former World Number 1 Squash player switched from Scottish to English because he felt he didn't receive enough support from Scottish Squash. Or simply because they feel strongly connected about their country, e.g. the brothers of Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng who played for Germany and Ghana respectively in football. Or in the case of Wilson Kipketer, dominant at the 800m for many years, opting to represent Denmark because he liked the country so much when he studied there. At his peak, he had to miss the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 because he was not full Dannish Citizenship. He did not Olympic gold in his career.
ReplyDeletePersonally, if England or GB win, I don't care where they are from, e.g. Lennox Lewis = part Canadian. If Greg Rusedski won a Grand Slam, nobody would really care he was Canadian. If England won the World Cup filled with Spanish, Brazilian and German players, nobody would care. Of course, if they lose, they are not English. Andy Murray will always be British when winning and Scottish when losing!
In the end, if it's in the rules then what's the problem?
As in the rules of the games itself, athletes and administrators will always push them to the limit! While I would love to see my own country win things with a team full of athletes born and bred in the country, the grandfather rule or residency rule, depending on the sport, is used to the fullest by most teams, and rightly so. And anyway how far back is born and bred, if my kids are born outside of my home country and I bring them up outside of it I would still like them to represent where I am from, so does that make me hypocritical?! Definitely!
ReplyDeleteThe All Blacks are loaded with players born in the Pacific Islands, England have Hape and Flutey who has been living in England for more than 3 years, and Hape has represented New Zealand at rugby league. Is this wrong? By the rules no, so as long as the rules are there and teams abide by it, there is no point in complaining. If you want a real pickle, try being Northern Irish, we can represent both N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but I won't go into that debate!
Excellent blog, with a subject very close to my heart. I could quite easily have written for England (or Nigeria!) on this subject.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of nationality is much more fluid and as the world becomes a “smaller place” we find that old barriers are being broken down. How important is nationality when you, as an athlete just want the chance to compete? What lengths would you go to for a chance to be the best in your sport…move country? Change nationality? How many of our parents have emigrated for the chance of a better life and in doing so have changed their nationality?
Without a hint of embarrassment, I can say that before reading this blog, I might have been the first person to roll my eyes in disgust when I saw a Kenyan lining up in a track meet to compete in a vest from Qatar or Denmark. This blog has forced me to see sport, not in isolation, but as an opportunity for people to better their lives and the lives of their family in anyway they know how to. And if that means competing for another country, then who am I to chastise.
I’m sure glad that my parents came to “compete” for England, all those years ago…