The Premier League footballer will be in his second big competition with Ukraine. A Wolves star’s goal of playing international football was dashed when FIFA denied his nationality change due to an unusual rule.
Despite losing manager Julen Lopetegui ahead of the season, Wolverhampton Wanderers remained stable under Gary O’Neil, finishing 14th in the 2023/24 Premier League.
Wolves finished 20 points clear of the relegation zone, thanks to five clean sheets, and centre defender Max Kilman was a major part of their success this season.
Despite this, the 27-year-old has never been called up for his native England, prompting him to transfer his allegiance to Ukraine, whom he is qualified to represent through his father.
However, despite his desire to commit his future to the Ukrainian squad, Kilman was stopped by FIFA for an unknown reason. Kilman played futsal, a hardcourt five-a-side football game commonly played indoors, for England in 25 matches prior to entering the Premier League, and he was unable to switch nationalities because they were competitive.
FIFA oversees football, futsal, and beach soccer, so any player who competes for a country in any of these sports is unable to change nationality.
Kilman may have played for Ukraine if he hadn’t played Futsal for England, as his father was born in Odessa, and he was invited up for a training camp before of Euro 2020 by then-boss Andriy Shevchenko.
The defender had already met the Ukrainian boss at Chelsea, where Kilman’s younger brother plays junior football, and spoke with Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko on the phone about his desire to go. Kilman told The Athletic that the scenario is “crazy.” Shevchenko approached me and said he wanted me to play for Ukraine. I accepted, and they attempted to complete the paperwork, but because I represented England futsal in an official qualification, I couldn’t.
change “If I were a beach soccer player, I would be unable to play international football for another country. It sounds quite odd. It is an entirely new sport, similar to tennis and table tennis.
“I travelled over and was just waiting for FIFA to accept everything, but they declined. I assumed I’d be in the Euros, which would have been a fantastic finale to the season. It did not happen.
“So, my only option is England.” “If I were a beach soccer player, I would be unable to play international football for another country. It sounds quite odd. It is an entirely new sport, similar to tennis and table tennis.
“I traveled over and was simply waiting for FIFA to accept everything, but they declined.
it. I assumed I’d be in the Euros, which would have been a fantastic finale to the season. It did not happen.
“So, my only option is England.”
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