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Socceroos vs Cameroon/ Curaçao March 2026 🇦🇺🇨🇲🇨🇼

How should Australia do March?

  • European based camp

    Votes: 7 38.9%

  • North American based camp

    Votes: 6 33.3%

  • Australian based camp

    Votes: 4 22.2%

  • Middle Eastern based camp

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Total voters
    18
Toebash said:
I find it a bit confusing as well.

My understanding was that you didn’t need to request a switch until you represented the senior team in a competitive game, such that Volpato could just turn up and play for Australia.

However, I guess that can’t be right, because otherwise Triantis wouldn’t have bothered requesting a switch (he’d never represented Australia at senior level).

I had also understood you could only request a switch once and were stuck with the team you had chosen after the switch. If that’s right, I think it means we’ve already lost Dylan Scicluna, because he played youth for Aus, then switched to Malta. If it’s true you can only switch once, then Scicluna is stuck with Malta and can’t switch back, despite not having played senior football for anyone.
Click to expand...
If you've played at youth level in an official tournament then you need to request a switch. There is a loophole that allows you to switch back but it doesn't apply once you've played for your new country in a senior official international.
 
Alex M said:
If you've played at youth level in an official tournament then you need to request a switch. There is a loophole that allows you to switch back but it doesn't apply once you've played for your new country in a senior official international.
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Interesting, where did you read this?
 
Bbouy said:
I don't think Popovic claims that.

Volpato only played youth level for Italy, a friendly match does not lock him into Australia, nor does it require a formal one-time switch of association through FIFA. It's why Circati and soon Robertson's competitive match capping was so important to lock them into Australia.

As for the World Cup, yes, he would need to evoke the one-time switch of association through FIFA, though it isn't a lengthy process in Volpato's case and his willingness to speak to Okon and Popovic suggests that he is well-aware of any deadline or required decision he needs to make to be apart of the World Cup squad.
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That's interesting and would be great news. @jrvkfootball do you know if you need a one time switch for friendlies, or are they fair game?
 
Alex M said:
If you've played at youth level in an official tournament then you need to request a switch. There is a loophole that allows you to switch back but it doesn't apply once you've played for your new country in a senior official international.
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It is not a senior official international, it's "any kind of football"

1773355822533.png
 
Quicky said:
That's interesting and would be great news. @jrvkfootball do you know if you need a one time switch for friendlies, or are they fair game?
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Yes you do.

If you have already played in an official competition for one federation, you cannot represent any other federation (whether friendly match or official competition) until you receive the change of association approval.

Coincidentally, this has popped up for Australia before in the exact same scenario. Greece fielded Apostolos Giannou in a friendly in 2015 after he had represented Australia in an official competition at youth level, but without the change of association approval. Greece were sanctioned by FIFA:

inside.fifa.com

Greece sanctioned for fielding ineligible player in friendly

Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) has been sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player in the international friendly match played between Turkey and Greece on 17 November 2015.
inside.fifa.com inside.fifa.com
 
jrvkfootball said:
Yes you do.

If you have already played in an official competition for one federation, you cannot represent any other federation (whether friendly match or official competition) until you receive the change of association approval.

Coincidentally, this has popped up for Australia before in the exact same scenario. Greece fielded Apostolos Giannou in a friendly in 2015 after he had represented Australia in an official competition at youth level, but without the change of association approval. Greece were sanctioned by FIFA:

inside.fifa.com

Greece sanctioned for fielding ineligible player in friendly

Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) has been sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player in the international friendly match played between Turkey and Greece on 17 November 2015.
inside.fifa.com inside.fifa.com
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I wish they'd made that mistake with Triantis instead, we may still have him.
 
Toebash said:
I think that means we have already lost Scicluna then, doesn't it?

He played for Australia at u20 level, then requested a switch to Malta. He can't switch back now because he has now played for them at youth level.
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That would be my understanding, yes
 
Toebash said:
I think that means we have already lost Scicluna then, doesn't it?

He played for Australia at u20 level, then requested a switch to Malta. He can't switch back now because he has now played for them at youth level.
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No. He represented Australia at friendly level. He didn't have to switch to play for Malta. He can still switch to Australia. Same deal with Musiala, whose international progression I've listed below. 1773407549350.png
 
Wait a second, maybe not!

The two games Scicluna played for Aus 20s were friendlies (against England and Morocco in September 2022). Because they weren't "a match in an official competition at any level" [emphasis added], he never needed to submit a change of association to play for Malta (and I have found no indication online that he did ever submit one).

That means, even though he has now played for Malta in an official matches (U21 Euro qualifiers), he can still make his request to change association to Australia. Once he does so, he will be locked in for Australia as soon as he plays "a match in any (official or unofficial) competition in any kind of football" for Australia (so it doesn't need to be an official match at senior level, he could play a friendly for the U23s for example).

So there we go, all good on the Scicluna front.
 
Toebash said:
Wait a second, maybe not!

The two games Scicluna played for Aus 20s were friendlies (against England and Morocco in September 2022). Because they weren't "a match in an official competition at any level" [emphasis added], he never needed to submit a change of association to play for Malta (and I have found no indication online that he did ever submit one).

That means, even though he has now played for Malta in an official matches (U21 Euro qualifiers), he can still make his request to change association to Australia. Once he does so, he will be locked in for Australia as soon as he plays "a match in any (official or unofficial) competition in any kind of football" for Australia (so it doesn't need to be an official match at senior level, he could play a friendly for the U23s for example).

So there we go, all good on the Scicluna front.
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Yes, that about makes sense actually based off what James said. If the friendlies came first, before any competitive game, he can do that. He can't go and play friendlies for us without doing the official association change - I think that's what James was saying earlier, Apo Giannou did that and Greece got in trouble.
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
A good one it seems, there is interest from both AEK (i think more likely) as well as Panathinaikos as well as a rather remote chance at a German club .... either way hell be playing Champions or Europa league next year. Clever boy.
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Maybe he will end up playing in Greece, is that greater than playing in a World Cup? I think not
 
Last edited:
Kitwally said:
Maybe he will end up played in Greece, is that greater than playing in a World Cup? I think not
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I guess if we keep expanding everyone plays in the world cup

Oddly enough i feel we had more loyal players before we made the world cup regularly
 
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