02-03-2012, 02:47 PM
FIDE do not indicate what constitutes "citizenship" of any state. Presumably that would be because each state may have its own rules. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook?id=19&view=category">http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook?id=19&view=category</a><!-- m -->
Since England and Scotland are not separate independent countries none of us have citizenship of anything other than the British state. This means that the grandparent rule is actually irrelevant. Anyone in the UK could play for Scotland on the grounds of citizenship.
That would hardly be practical so home nation sporting organisations like football have developed their own rules and agreed policy on how they would operate national eligibility. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_eligibility_rules#Home_nations_agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_eligi ... _agreement</a><!-- m -->
Have any such discussions ever taken place with the ECF with regard to eligibility?
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UK Census do not record things like grandparent birthplace so it would only be possible to guess at Scots ancestry. However the Irish estimate that there are 6 million people in the UK who have an Irish grandparent. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_migration_to_Great_Britain">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_migr ... at_Britain</a><!-- m -->
I would guess a fairly high percentage of the UK chess population would be eligible for Scotland on that basis if they did a family tree search.
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Alan Tate amended his residency only rule. Otherwise our top two players and others would now not be eligible.
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Phil Thomas - trust the selectors - is that really such a good idea? Much better if you have published guidelines rather than human whims.
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The AGM was quite difficult to vote against Matthew Turner since he had actually made the effort to turn up - quite a rare occurrence.
Perhaps the halfway house of grandparent gets you on the FIDE list as SCO but you must choose to reside here before you can play is the way to go.
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On a lighter note....<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamBack/Eligibiliy.html">http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Te ... biliy.html</a><!-- m -->
The concept of national team eligibility continues to elude some fans. Take this exchange, for example, on TalkSPORT’s Scottish phone-in when goalkeeper Antii Niemi still played for Hearts (borrowed from Jason Burt’s “The Sweeper” column in The Independent, 1 January 2003):
“Caller: I'm a Hearts fan and, fair enough, Stephen Pressley gets a game for Scotland but what I can't understand is why [national coach Berti] Vogts never picks Antii Niemi.
“Host (former footballer Arthur Albiston): Eh? Sorry?
“Caller: Why does he never pick Antii Niemi for Scotland?
“Host: It's because he's Finnish.
“Caller: What?
“Host: Antii Niemi is Finnish.
“By now enraged caller: He's not Finnish! He's only 28!”
Since England and Scotland are not separate independent countries none of us have citizenship of anything other than the British state. This means that the grandparent rule is actually irrelevant. Anyone in the UK could play for Scotland on the grounds of citizenship.
That would hardly be practical so home nation sporting organisations like football have developed their own rules and agreed policy on how they would operate national eligibility. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_eligibility_rules#Home_nations_agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_eligi ... _agreement</a><!-- m -->
Have any such discussions ever taken place with the ECF with regard to eligibility?
**************
UK Census do not record things like grandparent birthplace so it would only be possible to guess at Scots ancestry. However the Irish estimate that there are 6 million people in the UK who have an Irish grandparent. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_migration_to_Great_Britain">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_migr ... at_Britain</a><!-- m -->
I would guess a fairly high percentage of the UK chess population would be eligible for Scotland on that basis if they did a family tree search.
***************
Alan Tate amended his residency only rule. Otherwise our top two players and others would now not be eligible.
***************
Phil Thomas - trust the selectors - is that really such a good idea? Much better if you have published guidelines rather than human whims.
***************
The AGM was quite difficult to vote against Matthew Turner since he had actually made the effort to turn up - quite a rare occurrence.
Perhaps the halfway house of grandparent gets you on the FIDE list as SCO but you must choose to reside here before you can play is the way to go.
***************
On a lighter note....<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamBack/Eligibiliy.html">http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Te ... biliy.html</a><!-- m -->
The concept of national team eligibility continues to elude some fans. Take this exchange, for example, on TalkSPORT’s Scottish phone-in when goalkeeper Antii Niemi still played for Hearts (borrowed from Jason Burt’s “The Sweeper” column in The Independent, 1 January 2003):
“Caller: I'm a Hearts fan and, fair enough, Stephen Pressley gets a game for Scotland but what I can't understand is why [national coach Berti] Vogts never picks Antii Niemi.
“Host (former footballer Arthur Albiston): Eh? Sorry?
“Caller: Why does he never pick Antii Niemi for Scotland?
“Host: It's because he's Finnish.
“Caller: What?
“Host: Antii Niemi is Finnish.
“By now enraged caller: He's not Finnish! He's only 28!”