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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.
