An England international has reportedly made the decision to represent an African nation going forward after several of his teammates were racially abused following the Three Lions' 2020 UEFA European Championship final loss to Italy.
According to GHANAsoccernet, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has decided he will play for Ghana, despite having made three appearances for England.
It is reported that the 20-year-old's decision has been influenced by the horrible online racist abuse some of his Three Lions colleagues suffered after their penalty shootout defeat to Italy on Sunday.
Hudson-Odoi was in Ghana just last month on holiday with his father Bismark Odoi, who played professionally in the African country many years ago.
Here are some other players who chose to play for African countries over European nations:
The Chelsea attacker was reportedly showered with praise and love during this vacation, while he was also presented with a Black Stars shirt that had his surname on the back.
Hudson-Odoi last made a senior appearance for England in a European Championship qualifier in November 2019.
How is he allowed to switch his allegiance?
According to Goal, FIFA introduced new rules in September 2020 that provide exceptions permitting players to change which national team they play for, provided:
- the player was eligible for their new association at the time of their first official appearance for their first national team;
- the player appeared in no more than three competitive senior games before they turned 21;
- the player has not featured in an official international tournament; and
- the player has not played for their previous national team for three years.
