Any Player who refers to art. 15 par. 1 to assume a new nationality and who
has not played international football in accordance with art. 15 par. 2 shall
be eligible to play for the new representative team only if he fulfils 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;
(d) He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age
of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association.
18 Change of Association
1. If a Player has more than one nationality, or if a Player acquires a new
nationality, or if a Player is eligible to play for several representative teams
due to nationality, he may, only once, request to change the Association for
which he is eligible to play international matches to the Association of another
country of which he holds nationality, subject to the following conditions:
(a) He has not played a match (either in full or in part) in an official
competition at “A” international level for his current Association, and at
the time of his fi rst full or partial appearance in an international match
in an offi cial competition for his current Association, he already had the
nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play.
(b) He is not permitted to play for his new Association in any competition
in which he has already played for his previous Association.
2. If a Player who has been fielded by his Association in an international
match in accordance with art. 15 par. 2 permanently loses the nationality
of that country without his consent or against his will due to a decision
by a government authority, he may request permission to play for another
Association whose nationality he already has or has acquired.
3. Any Player who has the right to change Associations in accordance with
par. 1 and 2 above shall submit a written, substantiated request to the FIFA
general secretariat. The Players’ Status Committee shall decide on the request.
The procedure will be in accordance with the Rules Governing the Procedures
of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber. Once
the Player has fi led his request, he is not eligible to play for any representative
team until his request has been processed.
In der "Sport Bild" erklärte Rechtsanwältin Jetta Kasper, dass dies in Ausnahmefällen auch schon früher möglich sei. "Die Möglichkeit besteht bei besonderem öffentlichen Interesse." Bei der Prüfung werde auch die besondere Integrationsleistung berücksichtigt. Denkbar wäre also, dass Luiz Gustavo den zur Einbürgerung notwendigen Sprach- und Wissenstest schon früher ablegen und den deutschen Pass im Eilverfahren erhalten könnte. "Diese Chance will ich ergreifen. Ich fühle mich sehr wohl in Deutschland", sagte der Brasilianer. Solange also die Selecao ihn nicht beruft, kann er auf einen Einsatz im DFB-Trikot hoffen.