Qatar 2022: Fifa rule change boosts new-look China’s World Cup hopes
- Eligibility for national team opens up for Beijing Guoan’s John Hou Saeter and Guangzhou Evergrande’s Ty Browning
- Jiangsu Suning’s Alex Teixeira now eligible to switch from Brazil if he chooses to become naturalised Chinese citizen
The Chinese men’s national football team have been given another boost in their hopes to qualify for a second Fifa World Cup with a new rule change.
At a virtual congress on Friday, Fifa members approved a change to eligibility rules that allows players to switch national teams even if they have represented an age group side in official competition.
The new wording allows players to switch federations if they played a maximum of three games for the first national side – including tournament qualifying games but not major tournaments – before they turned 21, and at least three years previously.
As it stood, players such as John Hou Saeter and Ty Browning were ineligible for the Chinese national team despite becoming naturalised Chinese citizens because they had played for Norway and England respectively in age-group tournaments.
Now, the two players will be eligible to play for Li Tie in the ongoing qualifying campaign for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
Nico Yennaris and Elkeson have already been capped for China as naturalised players. Yennaris qualifies for the team based on his Chinese ancestry while Elkeson fulfils residency requirements.