The Indian football dressing room must soon get accustomed to English with a Western Australian twang. Indian ancestry has taken Ryan Williams, the winger from the Perth suburb of Subiaco, to India’s national side — after relinquishing his Australian passport. This is not the first time the country, ranked 136th in the world, has looked beyond its borders to address its dwindling stock of quality footballers. A decade ago, Arata Izumi, whose father was from Gujarat, wore the India colours, but with negligible success. But this could be the way forward, as India seeks to move up the footballing ladder after inhabiting the lower echelons for decades.
Even powerhouses such as Spain and Italy have used the strategy to strengthen their national squads. The recent instance of success has been Cape Verde’s remarkable journey from whipping boys to securing their maiden World Cup qualification. The second least populated country to have qualified for the world’s grandest sporting spectacle managed to form a 25-member squad from expatriates settled in five different countries. Several football associations, especially of African nations, aggressively seek players of their heritage settled in Europe. In two World Cups, Jerome Boateng turned up for Germany and his half-brother Kevin Prince, also born in Berlin, appeared in Ghana’s garbs.
But this country’s welcoming embrace may not see a rush of footballers. The process is complex as they have to forsake their citizenship and passports, as opposed to the players in Africa, Europe, Australia and some American countries. Those from developed countries may shy away from the gamble of shifting to India, its sporting bodies whimsical, its policies shape-shifting frequently. If something goes wrong, reacquiring the old nationality is a cumbersome process. However, if Williams’s move succeeds, at least some of those with Indian parentage could entertain thoughts of returning to the land of their ancestors.
