Hello everybody and welcome to soccer 101.

I'm Taylor Rockwell, and on this episode, we're going to be taking a deeper look at the law changes regarding national team eligibility that were authorized at the 70th FIFA Congress in September 2020.

I will admit that is not the sexiest title to begin with. And this may seem like more of a niche

subject than say, what is pressing or why are in Munich so good? But it's a topic that could have some

major ramifications on international soccer. So let's start with a very simplified explanation of the new rules.

The first big change relates to eligibility for naturalized minors and how long they must

reside in the country before being able to play for their national team.

The second relates to stateless persons and the amount of time that must pass before

they could represent their country of residence.

The third relates to changes of nationality request, and that, in my opinion, is the big one.

But let's take them in order, starting with naturalized minors.

Prior to the 70th FIFA Congress, any player that was naturalized had to reside in their adopted country

for at least five years after they turned 21.

That is the key distinction.

This meant that, say, a 17-year-old who became a naturalized citizen had to live in that country for another five years after they

turned 21. So it's like 17 to 21 and then five more years on top. That's a bit unrealistic. The new

rule establishes a series of ranges based on age and residence.

A good summary comes from Stars and Stripes FC.

For individuals who moved to their adopted nation before the age of nine,

they must reside in that country for at least three years.

So nine to 12, you're good.

For those above the age of 10, but below the age of 18, it's five years,

...