David Johnson's World of Home Nations Football

 

The UK's Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are perhaps the most well-known of FIFA's non-sovereign nations. These are countries which are themselves part of other countries, and understandably these non-sovereign nations often have even great complexity when it comes to who qualifies to play for them; for example, what team (or teams) is a British-passport holder born overseas allowed to play for? The answer, broadly speaking (and we'll get to the nuances as the story develops) is all of them. And brings us to the subject of today's article.

David Johnson was born in Kingston, Jamaica but was of British parentage and relocated to the UK as a child. He moved up through the England school boy scene, eventually making a senior international appearance (albeit for England B) in 1998, being selected by then-England-manager Glenn Hoddle in a game designed as testing-ground for under-the-radar players, ahead of that year's World Cup.

After closing out that year without any further interest from the Three Lions, Johnson decided that it was time for a change. Or in fact several changes.

Firstly he pondered a call-up from Northern Ireland's Lawrie McMenemy, but took things no further than that. 

Instead his next step was to answer the call from a rather different side:

Jamaica. And this time he actually played....

...before deciding to switch nationality once again to Wales, stating:

"Mark Hughes told me Wales are going places"

Unfortunately an injury in training prevented Johnson from appearing, but did provide an opportunity for another nationality change, proudly declaring

"[My] future is with Scotland"

Sadly at this point, that pesky nuance came into play: Johnson's mother was found to have been born in England, something that was initially unclear as (much like in the case of Tony Cascarino) she was adopted at birth. 

Why did this matter? Well, under a 1993 agreement between the home nations, a player is tied to their parent's (or grandparents) country, meaning the approaches from Wales and Scotland should never have been made.

Having heard this, the Jamaican FA made appeals to Johnson to return for the 2000 Gold Cup:

Horace Reid, general secretary of the Jamaican Football Federation, has pleaded with Johnson to lead the Reggae Boyz attack in the Gold Cup, saying: "The door is still open to David. He is an exceptional talent who has established himself as one of the top players in his division.

But nothing came of their request.

Amazingly, this wasn't the end of the tale as Northern Ireland subsequently got in touch with the player again in 2004, who was open to the idea of representing the Seleção Norn Iron, with new boss Lawrie Sanchez confirming

"I did speak to David Johnson a while ago; he was interested [in playing for Northern Ireland], but when we checked his eligibility we found out that his mother's English and therefore he can't play for us."

 As is often the case in these scenarios, that was the end of his international playing career, but in an interesting post-script his son Brennan followed a similar, but less convoluted, path appearing first for England at Youth level before switching to Wales for his full debut.

Which is kind of a nice way to tie the whole story up. Hopefully one day he has a grandchild who turns out for the Tartan Army and the circle will be complete!

Ineligible Internationals

Nationality tends to be a fluid thing in football these days, with almost every major national competition featuring a Brazilian or two, but today we're looking at some examples that overstepped the mark; players who appeared on the international stage when they just plain shouldn't have.

Before we do though, an important note: A lot of people would consider Tony Cascarino to be the most famous example, after all he claimed in his 2000 autobiography that he had no right to play for Ireland due to the fact his mother was adopted, and so his Irish grandfather was not a blood relation. 

 

What's often missed is that later that same year, the Irish FA confirmed that he actually was eligible, as adopted relatives still count when applying for nationality from the Emerald Isle.

 

And with that squared away, let's get on with the rest!

Deklan Wynne

Team: New Zealand

Appearances: 15

South-African-born Deklan Wynne inadvertently caused his adopted nation of New Zealand to be thrown out of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, after it was found that the defender did not satisfy any of the relevant criteria for assuming a new footballing nationality, having no relatives of New Zealand descent, nor satisfying the residency requirements: Wynne moved to the country as a child, but left to ply his trade in the states at age eighteen, and the rules require five years of residency in an adopted country after reaching adulthood.

In a generous twist, FIFA later granted an exemption to allow Wynne to continue to represent the country going forward. While he missed his own chance to play at the Olympics, the "Olly Whites" returned successfully for the 2020 tournament. 

 

Charly Moussono

Team: Gabon

Appearances: 12

The beach is a great place to relax and soak up some rays but as anyone who has ever accidentally stepped on a jellyfish can attest, it's can also be the source of painful memories. Charly Moussono knows that all too well; having made ten international appearances for Gabon his international career was called to an abrupt halt in 2012 because six years earlier he'd represented Cameroon at the Beach Soccer World Cup, even participating in a 5-2 loss to the Solomon Islands in that very tournament.

 

While this presumably meant he was eligible for Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions sadly never called on the bucket & spade wielding centre back. In happier news, he appears to have continued his club career for at least a few more years, although up-to-date info is hard to come by.

 

Herve Xavier Zengue

Team: Burkina Faso

Appearances: 7

The institution of matrimony can bring many benefits, but unfortunately for the Cameronian defender Herve Zengue the opportunity to represent your spouses nation in football is not one of them.

The man commonly known as just "Xavier" had a Burkinabe wife, and thus a passport from the country, but that in itself was not enough, and his appearances for Les Étalons drew complaints from defeated opponents Namibia. The results of the games were overturned, Burkina Faso were fined and the player in question was no longer allowed to appear for his wife's homeland.

Tyrone Mears

Team: Jamaica

Appearances: 1

One-time Manchester City man Mears made many moves searching for soccer stardom in a club he could call home, and the same was true of the international scene as the former England youth player who had played at all levels from U16 to U21 sought out a whole new country at the age of 28 by accepting a call up to the Reggae Boyz, on the grounds of a Jamaican father. 

 

He subsequently turned out in a friendly against Nigeria and declared himself thrilled to represent the country on behalf of his Dad.

 

Unfortunately for Mears his father was actually from Sierra Leone. Which is not Jamaica. 

 

While this put an end to his internationally career, his club playing days continued for a further ten years, during which time he also undertook studies in Counter-Terrorism at Southern New Hampshire University.

 

When combined with his ability to assume another nationality, Mears could be a real asset to the intelligence community!

Daddy Birori

Team: Rwanda

Appearances: 19

 

Way back when, in the year of 2009, when we could all safely eat as many bat sandwiches as we liked (none for me, thanks) a 19 year old Congolese man named Etekiama Agiti Tady turned out for Rwandan league champions ATRACO F.C in the CAF Champions League.

That same year, 23 year old Daddy Bironi made his debut for his home country of Rwanda. 

The only problem? Bironi and Tady were the same person using two different passports, with two different dates of birth and two different nationalities. Which one (if any) was real is unclear, but it lead to a two year suspension for the player.

Presumably one for each passport he used?