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The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. Despite the common name for the rule, grandparents of either sex can be invoked equally and it is sometimes referred to as the grandparent rule or the granny rule.
In rugby league, the RLIF reiterated in 2008 that a player may represent a country if it is their country, or the country of their parents or any of their grandparents' birth. [1]
In rugby union, regulation 8.1 of World Rugby stipulates that: [2]
a Player may only play for the [Team] (...) of the country with which the Player has a genuine, close, credible and established national link in which: (a) he was born; or (b) one parent or grandparent was born; or (...)
The term "grandparent" was at one time defined to include only blood grandparents, even for individuals who were legally adopted. However, World Rugby's current interpretation of its regulations accounts for cases in which a player, or his or her blood parent, was adopted: [3]
Unless a Player has been adopted in accordance with the formal, legal requirements of the country concerned, the application of this criterion will be based on a Player's blood parent. When a Player has been formally adopted in accordance with the applicable legal requirements of the country concerned, the birth place of the Player's blood parent will no longer be relevant for the purposes of establishing the Player's eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b). The relevant parent will be the parent that has formally and legally adopted the Player. In such circumstances, the relevant grandparents for the purposes of establishing a Player's eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b) will be the Player's adoptive rather than blood grandparents. It is not possible under Regulation 8.1(b) to assume eligibility via blood grandparents if a Player has been formally and legally adopted. In the event that one of the Player's blood parents has been adopted, the relevant grandparents for the purpose of establishing that Player's eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b) will be the Player's blood parent's adoptive parents. The term "parent" in the Regulations is limited to either a blood parent or a parent that has formally adopted a Player in accordance with the applicable legal requirements of the country concerned.
This exception is also incorporated directly into certain national regulations which govern the club-level teams from that country, as shown by regulation 9.14.2.1 of the Irish Rugby Football Union: [4]
The following are the registered players who are eligible to play in the All Ireland League and Cup: (i) A Player who qualifies to play for Ireland under World Rugby Regulations. (...)
In association football, this rule can be found at the international level in the statutes of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), in articles 6 and 7. The former states: [5]
if, in addition to having the relevant nationality, he fulfils at least one of the following conditions: a) He was born on the territory of the relevant Association; b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant Association; c) His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant Association; (...)
Note that unlike World Rugby, which now substitutes adoptive parents for birth parents in determining national team eligibility, FIFA continues to use only biological relations for this purpose.
Among the most notable countries to have availed of the "granny rule" is the Republic of Ireland, where the wide spread of the Irish diaspora left large numbers of potential recruits, especially in the United Kingdom. [6] Jack Charlton (manager 1986–96) was especially noted for recruiting English-born footballers who had Irish ancestry. [7] Many German-born players who have Turkish ancestry have chosen to play for Turkey. This is partly due to Germany's strict rules on dual citizenship which forces German-Turks to choose whether to have German or Turkish citizenship by the age of 23 (in accordance with the German Citizenship Law of 1999).
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), which governs both baseball and softball internationally, requires nationality as a precondition for national team selection, but does not mention the grandparent rule in its bylaws. The method by which a player obtains legal nationality is irrelevant to national team eligibility, at least from the WBSC's perspective. The relevant bylaw uses the language "country or territory", thereby encompassing both fully sovereign states and dependent territories. [8]
FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, has eligibility rules largely similar to those of the WBSC. Nationality is a precondition for national team selection, [9] and the grandparent rule is generally not employed. The method by which a player obtains citizenship is usually irrelevant to national team eligibility. The only use of the grandparent rule is to determine eligibility to represent the national team of a country's dependent territory, with two notable examples being those of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, both US insular areas with their own national federations, and whose native-born residents are US citizens by birth. [10]
FIBA, however, has a unique restriction on participation of naturalised players in its official competitions that has no parallel in association football, either rugby code, or baseball and softball. In FIBA competitions, a national team can have no more than one player on its roster who acquired that country's nationality by any means after reaching age 16. This restriction also applies to individuals who had the right to a second nationality at birth, but did not exercise that right until age 16 or later. [11] The latter is relevant to natives of Northern Ireland, who have both British citizenship and the right to Irish citizenship by birth.
The International Cricket Council, which governs international play in cricket, has eligibility rules broadly similar to rugby union. A player may qualify for a national team by birth, nationality, or a minimum of three years of residency in the territory governed by a specific federation. The grandparent rule is not used. [12]
A controversial rule, sports fans often debate whether this rule weakens smaller countries by creating the temptation for the best players to abandon their native country and declare elsewhere in the hopes of greater glory, or if on the contrary it helps smaller countries by giving them access to a broader range of players who wouldn't typically be considered to be picked for their country of birth.
Jus soli, meaning 'right of the soil', is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship, also commonly referred to as birthright citizenship in some Anglophone countries, is a rule defining a person's nationality based on their birth in the territory of the country.
Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Nationality law is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the legal manner in which a national identity is acquired and how it may be lost. In international law, the legal means to acquire nationality and formal membership in a nation are separated from the relationship between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Some nations domestically use the terms interchangeably, though by the 20th century, nationality had commonly come to mean the status of belonging to a particular nation with no regard to the type of governance which established a relationship between the nation and its people. In law, nationality describes the relationship of a national to the state under international law and citizenship describes the relationship of a citizen within the state under domestic statutes. Different regulatory agencies monitor legal compliance for nationality and citizenship. A person in a country of which he or she is not a national is generally regarded by that country as a foreigner or alien. A person who has no recognised nationality to any jurisdiction is regarded as stateless.
Australian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Australia. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia.
The primary law governing nationality of the Republic of Ireland is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, which came into force on 17 July 1956. Ireland is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Irish nationals are EU citizens. They are entitled to free movement rights in EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.
This article concerns the history of British nationality law.
The Venezuela national baseball team is the national team of Venezuela. It is currently ranked sixth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, behind the Mexico and ahead of the Netherlands. The team will compete against Israel, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March 2023 in Miami, Florida.
Maltese nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Malta. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Maltese Citizenship Act, which came into force on 21 September 1964. Malta is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Maltese nationals are EU citizens. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.
The right of abode (ROA) is an immigration status in the United Kingdom that gives a person the unrestricted right to enter and live in the UK. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971 which went into effect on 1 January 1973. This status is held by British citizens, certain British subjects, as well as certain Commonwealth citizens with specific connections to the UK before 1983. Since 1983, it is not possible for a person to acquire this status without being a British citizen.
A national sports team is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The Spanish nationality legal framework refers to all the laws, provisions, regulations, and resolutions in Spain concerning nationality.
The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself and the Crown dependencies, and the 14 British Overseas Territories.
Pakistani nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Pakistan. The primary law governing these requirements is the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, which came into force on 13 April 1951.
Multiple citizenship is a person's legal status in which a person is at the one time recognized by more than one country under its nationality and citizenship law as a national or citizen of that country. There is no international convention which determines the nationality or citizenship status of a person, which is consequently determined exclusively under national laws, that often conflict with each other, thus allowing for multiple citizenship situations to arise.
In association football, the FIFA eligibility rules are the specific eligibility criteria that FIFA, as the sports governing body, have established in order to facilitate representative team selection for international competitions. Specifically FIFA is responsible for the maintenance and implementation of the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular national team in officially sanctioned international competitions and friendly matches.
South Sudanese nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of South Sudan, as amended; the South Sudanese Nationality Act and Nationality Regulations, and their revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of South Sudan. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. In South Sudan, nationality is often equated with ethnicity, despite recognition of the legal definitions. South Sudanese nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in South Sudan, or jus sanguinis, born to parents with South Sudanese ancestry. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
As the governing body of basketball, FIBA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether a basketball player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognized international competitions. Any player with legal nationality the country they seek to represent are generally eligible to play for that country's national team but FIBA provides specific provisions for players who have acquired their legal nationality, dual citizens, and players representing FIBA members which are dependencies of another country.
Ugandan nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Uganda, as amended; the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Uganda. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Commonwealth countries often use the terms nationality and citizenship as synonyms, despite their legal distinction and the fact that they are regulated by different governmental administrative bodies. Ugandan nationality is typically obtained under the principal of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Ugandan nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation or registration.
Regulations relating to the eligibility of players to play for national teams in rugby union, both in the fifteen-a-side game and rugby sevens, are the responsibility of World Rugby, the governing body for the sport. Players' eligibility to represent a country depends on whether they have a genuine, close, credible and established national link with that country.
In order to play for the national team of a country, a player must hold the legal nationality of that country and have fulfilled also the conditions of eligibility and national status according to the Internal Regulations.