FIFA association changes in 2026

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This is a list of association footballers who switched their international allegiance to a different football association to the one they previously represented under FIFA eligibility rules in the year 2026.[1]

List

As of 26 June 2026[1]
Player Former association New association Decision date Ref.
Brielle Tautua  Samoa  American Samoa 12 January 2026
Richard Ledezma  United States  Mexico 20 January 2026 [2]
Valeria Luzio  Puerto Rico  Peru 26 January 2026
Jairo Vélez  Ecuador 29 January 2026 [3]
Mathilde Janzen  Germany  Sweden 3 February 2026 [4][5]
Álvaro Fidalgo  Spain  Mexico 5 February 2026 [6]
Leandro Padilla  Nicaragua  Honduras
Maurício  Brazil  Paraguay 9 February 2026 [7][8]
Tyra Bagiante  Tonga  Australia 10 February 2026 [9]
Marcelo Flores  Mexico  Canada 11 February 2026 [10]
Somea Položen  Sweden  Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 February 2026 [11][12]
Layla Drury  Wales  England 19 February 2026 [13]
Christopher Atherton  Northern Ireland  Republic of Ireland 24 February 2026 [14]
Amara Condé  Germany  Guinea 26 February 2026
Lakeesha Eijken  Netherlands  Suriname 2 March 2026 [15]
Andrei Coubiș  Italy  Romania 4 March 2026 [16]
Rani Khedira  Germany  Tunisia [17][18]
Ayaz Guliyev  Azerbaijan  Russia 5 March 2026 [19][20]
Lamine Diaby-Fadiga  France  Guinea 6 March 2026 [21]
Bujar Pllana  Kosovo  Albania 9 March 2026 [22][23]
Paul Wanner  Germany  Austria [24][25]
Carney Chukwuemeka  England [26][27]
Jordan Semedo  France  Cape Verde 10 March 2026 [28][29]
Fábio Duarte  Portugal
Dominik Šimić  Switzerland  Croatia 11 March 2026
Tanya Boychuk  Canada  Ukraine [30]
Chardonnay Curran  United States  Philippines
Ryan Fosso  Switzerland  Cameroon [31][32]
Emily Cassap  England  Northern Ireland [33]
Ibrahim Cissoko  Netherlands  Guinea [34]
Sami Bouhoudane  Morocco 13 March 2026 [35][36]
Adrian Segečić  Australia  Croatia [37][38]
Harvey Vale  England  Republic of Ireland [39][40]
Brenda Meier  Switzerland  Peru
Dino Delić  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Austria [41]
Jennifer Muñoz  Guatemala  United States 16 March 2026
Oualid Agougil  Netherlands  Morocco [35][42]
Ayoub Ouarghi [35][43]
Joël Piroe  Suriname 17 March 2026 [44][45]
Ilija Maslarov  Switzerland  North Macedonia 18 March 2026
Benjamin Khaderi  Netherlands  Morocco [35][46]
Melayro Bogarde  Suriname [45]
Lucy Day  England  Wales 23 March 2026
Indy Botosso Kolster  Denmark  Brazil 24 March 2026
Lyndon Turrell  Gibraltar  Thailand 25 March 2026
Rayane Bounida  Belgium  Morocco [46][47]
Dylan Scicluna  Malta  Australia [48][49]
Saif Lazar  Belgium  Morocco [46][50]
Ayres Ava  Samoa  American Samoa
Luis Hasa  Italy  Albania 26 March 2026 [51][52]
Issa Diop  France  Morocco [47][53]
Elye Wahi  Ivory Coast 28 March 2026 [54][55]
Milica Denda  Serbia  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 April 2026 [56][57]
Arthur Okonkwo  England  Nigeria 6 April 2026 [58][59]
Julliana Lisbeth  Dominican Republic  Peru 7 April 2026
Vildan Kardeşler  Germany  Turkey [60]
Ermin Mahmić  Austria  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 May 2026 [61][62]
Aleksandr Guboglo  Haiti  Canada 6 May 2026
Serhiy Ihnatkov  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Ukraine 8 May 2026 [63][64]
Ange-Yoan Bonny  France  Ivory Coast 8 May 2026 [65][66]
Evagjelos Gjoka  Albania  Greece 11 May 2026 [67]
Dario Naamo  Finland  Iraq [68][69]
Ahmed Qasem  Sweden [70][71]
CJ dos Santos  United States  Cape Verde 13 May 2026 [72]
Matias Fernandez-Pardo  Spain  Belgium 14 May 2026 [73][74]
Keyrol Figueroa  United States  Honduras [75][76]
Omar Carabalí  Chile  Ecuador [77][78]
Ayyoub Bouaddi  France  Morocco 15 May 2026 [79][80]
Mirko Milikić  Montenegro  Serbia 18 May 2026 [81]
Cassandra Bogere  Norway  Sweden 19 May 2026
Willsem Boussaid  France  Algeria 20 May 2026
Nils Reichmuth  Switzerland  Chile 22 May 2026 [82][83]
Julia Walentowicz  Sweden  Poland 26 May 2026 [84][85]
Cristian Volpato  Italy  Australia 29 May 2026 [86][87]
Valmir Matoshi  Switzerland  Kosovo 1 June 2026 [88][89]
Hope McSheffrey  England  Wales 2 June 2026
Omar Bolaños  Mexico  Guatemala 2 June 2026
Miranda Solís  Mexico  Costa Rica 9 June 2026
Derrick Luckassen  Netherlands  Ghana [90]
Nassim El Harmouz  Morocco 17 June 2026 [91][92]
Giana Riley  United States  Mexico 26 June 2026 [93]

Summary

As of 26 June 2026[1]
Country Confed. Changes
G L N
 Albania UEFA 2 1 +1
 Algeria CAF 1 0 +1
 American Samoa OFC 2 0 +2
 Australia AFC 3 1 +2
 Austria UEFA 3 1 +2
 Azerbaijan UEFA 0 1 –1
 Belgium UEFA 1 2 –1
 Bosnia and Herzegovina UEFA 3 2 +1
 Brazil CONMEBOL 1 1 ±0
 Cameroon CAF 1 0 +1
 Canada CONCACAF 2 1 +1
 Cape Verde CAF 3 0 +3
 Chile CONMEBOL 1 1 ±0
 Croatia UEFA 2 0 +2
 Denmark UEFA 0 1 –1
 Dominican Republic CONCACAF 0 1 –1
 Ecuador CONCACAF 1 1 ±0
 England UEFA 1 6 –5
 Finland UEFA 0 1 –1
 France UEFA 0 7 –7
 Germany UEFA 0 5 –5
 Ghana CAF 1 0 +1
 Gibraltar UEFA 0 1 –1
 Greece UEFA 1 0 +1
 Guatemala CONCACAF 1 1 ±0
 Guinea CAF 3 0 +3
 Haiti CONCACAF 0 1 –1
 Honduras CONCACAF 2 0 +2
 Iraq AFC 2 0 +2
 Italy UEFA 0 3 –3
 Ivory Coast CAF 2 0 +2
 Kosovo UEFA 1 1 ±0
 Malta UEFA 0 1 –1
 Mexico CONCACAF 3 3 ±0
 Montenegro UEFA 0 1 –1
 Morocco CAF 9 0 +9
 Netherlands UEFA 0 10 –10
 Nicaragua CONCACAF 0 1 –1
 Nigeria CAF 1 0 +1
 Northern Ireland UEFA 1 1 ±0
 North Macedonia UEFA 1 0 +1
 Norway UEFA 0 1 –1
 Paraguay CONMEBOL 1 0 +1
 Peru CONMEBOL 4 0 +4
 Philippines AFC 1 0 +1
 Poland UEFA 1 0 +1
 Portugal UEFA 0 1 –1
 Puerto Rico CONCACAF 0 1 –1
 Republic of Ireland UEFA 2 0 +2
 Romania UEFA 1 0 +1
 Russia UEFA 1 0 +1
 Samoa OFC 0 2 –2
 Serbia UEFA 1 1 ±0
 Spain UEFA 0 2 –2
 Suriname CONCACAF 3 0 +3
 Sweden UEFA 2 3 –1
 Switzerland UEFA 0 6 –6
 Thailand AFC 1 0 +1
 Tonga OFC 0 1 –1
 Tunisia CAF 1 0 +1
 Turkey UEFA 1 0 +1
 Ukraine UEFA 2 0 +2
 United States CONCACAF 1 4 –3
 Wales UEFA 2 1 +1
Total 76

References

  1. "FIFA Change of Association Platform". FIFA.
  2. "Richard Ledezma, Brian Gutiérrez complete U.S. switch to Mexico". ESPN. 27 February 2026.
  3. del Aguila, Joaquín (16 March 2026). "Jairo Vélez confesó su reacción al llamado de Perú y el inesperado contacto con jugador de Alianza" [Jairo Vélez confessed his reaction to the call from Peru and the unexpected contact with an Alianza player] (in Spanish). Diario El Diez.
  4. "Beskedet: Janzen byter Tyskland mot Sverige" [Announcement: Janzen swaps Germany for Sweden] (in Swedish). SVT Sport. 23 January 2026.
  5. "Janzens tuffa val – bytt till Sveriges landslag: "Älskar det här landet"" [Janzen's tough choice – switched to the Swedish national team: "Love this country"] (in Swedish). Fotbollskanaken. 27 January 2026.
  6. "Álvaro Fidalgo officially registered as Mexican with Liga MX". OneFootball. 12 January 2026.
  7. "Maurício eligible for Paraguay after naturalisation, could play at World Cup". OneFootball. 11 February 2026.
  8. "Maurício e paraguaio y está à la orden rel "Cazador"" [Maurício is Paraguayan and is at the command of the "Hunter"] (in Spanish). Crónica. 12 February 2026.
  9. Tonga Football Association (9 September 2025). "Tonga Football is so proud to and excited to see Tyra Bagiante names in the Junior Matildas squad, joining young stars across Australia as they prepare for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025. Tyra shone as an outstanding player with our Tonga U16 team in Fiji 2024, and we wish her every success on her new journey! Go Tyra, go! The sky is the limit! 💪 ⚽️ 🇹🇴 🤝 🇦🇺". Facebook.
  10. Hernandez, Cesar (11 February 2026). "Marcelo Flores completes FIFA one-time switch to Canada from Mexico". ESPN.
  11. Bergström, Jonas (27 December 2025). "Trelleborgaren skulle dricka te – borta från fotbollen i månader" [The Trelleborg player was going to drink tea – away from football for months] (in Swedish). Trelleborgs Allehanda.
  12. "Nogometni savez BiH dobio jednu od bitki: Somea Položen ima pravo nastupa za našu državu" [The Football Association of BiH won one of its battles: Somea Položen has the right to play for our country] (in Bosnian). Klix Sport. 18 February 2026.
  13. Davies, Kieran (18 February 2026). "Manchester United attacker officially changes allegiance with England call-up". CentreDevils.
  14. Morton, Johnny (26 February 2026). "Record-breaking former Irish League teen and Northern Ireland youth international switches allegiance to Republic of Ireland". News Letter.
  15. Nationetwork (2 March 2026). "Lakeesha Eijken is nu officieel speelster van Suriname 🫶 ❤️ 🇸🇷" [Lakeesha Eijken is now officially a player for Suriname 🫶 ❤️ 🇸🇷] (in Dutch). Facebook.
  16. "Andrei Coubiș sends a direct message to Mircea Lucescu". Spotmedia. 7 January 2026.
  17. "Tunisia cleared by FIFA to pick Rani Khedira, brother of former Germany star Sami, for World Cup". Associated Press. 5 March 2026.
  18. "Union Berlin's Rani Khedira to represent Tunisia". Bulinews. 6 March 2026.
  19. "Хавбек Сабаха снова выбрал Россию" [Sabah midfielder chooses Russia again] (in Russian). Azerisport. 24 January 2026.
  20. "Ayaz Quliyev Rusiyaya qayıtdı" [Ayaz Guliyev has returned to Russia] (in Azerbaijani). Hafta. 26 January 2026.
  21. "5 things to know about Mohamed Lamine Diaby-Fadiga, the new "signing" for the Syli National". OneFootball. 7 March 2026.
  22. "Forcë shtesë për "Kuqezinjët", Bujar Pllana merr shtetësinë e Shqipërisë" [Additional strength for the Kuqezinjtë, Bujar Pllana receives Albanian citizenship] (in Albanian). Klan Kosova. 10 March 2026.
  23. ""This is why I chose Albania and not Kosovo", Pllana confesses in Poland: We give our souls for the World Cup". BalkanWeb. 24 March 2026.
  24. Erb, Charles (7 March 2026). "Paul Wanner officially confirms he will represent Austria". Bulinews.
  25. Laushway, Jack (8 March 2026). "Paul Wanner chooses to represent Austria over Germany". Bavarian Football Works.
  26. "Carney Chukwuemeka switches allegiance away from England before World Cup". ESPN UK. 10 March 2026.
  27. "Carney Chukwuemeka makes international switch". Bundesliga. 11 March 2026.
  28. Traoré, Nafongo (12 March 2026). "Cape Verde: Dual-nationality players join the Blue Sharks squad". Foot Africa.
  29. "Cap-Vert : deux nouveaux binationaux qualifiés avant le Mondial 2026" [Cape Verde: two new binationals qualified before the 2026 World Cup] (in French). Sport News Africa. 13 March 2026.
  30. "Таня Володимирівна Бойчук" [Tanya Volodymyrivna Boychuk] (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Association of Football.
  31. "Ryan Fosso: a valuable addition to the Cameroonian midfield". Africa Top Sports. 12 March 2026.
  32. M'toama, Nouya (12 March 2026). "Cameroon: Ryan Fosso chooses to play for the Indomitable Lions". Foot Africa.
  33. Morton, Johnny (17 March 2026). "Northern Ireland boost as Sunderland teen labelled 'one of the North East's brightest young prospects' switches international allegiance". News Letter.
  34. ben Amara, Imed (12 March 2026). "Ibrahim Cissoko chooses the Syli National". Foot Africa.
  35. Babas, Latifa (6 March 2026). "Five Dutch-born youth internationals choose to represent Morocco". Yabiladi.
  36. ben Gamra, Farah (6 March 2026). "PSV talent Sami Bouhoudane chooses Morocco over Netherlands". Morocco World News.
  37. "Adrian Segečić switches from Australia to Croatia ahead of FIFA World Cup". ABC News. 14 March 2026.
  38. Harrington, Anna (14 March 2026). "Emerging Australian star Adrian Segečić to defect to Croatia just months out from World Cup". Seven News.
  39. Cunningham, Jack (14 March 2026). "Ex-Chelsea star switches international allegiance from England and could feature at World Cup". Talksport.
  40. Fallon, John (14 March 2026). "Former England U19 captain Harvey Vale makes himself available to Ireland". Irish Examiner.
  41. "Nächster „Neuzugang"! ÖFB sichert sich Offensiv-Youngster" [Another "new signing"! The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) secures young attacking player] (in German). Sky Sport Austria. 17 March 2026.
  42. "FIFA : Oualid Agougil est officiellement un Lion de l'Atlas !" [FIFA: Oualid Agougil is officially an Atlas Lion!] (in French). Bladi.
  43. ben Gamra, Farah (17 March 2026). "FIFA officially validates Ayoub Ouarghi's move to Moroccan national team". Morocco World News.
  44. "Joël Piroe to play international football for Suriname". Leeds United. 9 January 2026.
  45. "Dutch youth internationals Piroe, Bogarde cleared to play for Suriname in World Cup qualifying playoffs". The Sports Network. 19 March 2026.
  46. Kwafo, Eric (27 March 2026). "Six players switch nationality to represent Morocco". Africa Soccer.
  47. "FIFA clears Fulham's Diop, Ajax's Bounida to play for Morocco". ESPN. 27 March 2026.
  48. Rosengarten, Jake (20 March 2026). "One of the A-League's best players is reportedly set to change his allegiance to Australia". Football360.
  49. A-Leagues (26 March 2026). "It's official 🇦🇺🥳 One of the A-League's top midfielders is now eligible to play for the Socceroos!". Instagram.
  50. Sylvanus (25 April 2026). "FIFA validates the arrival of a Belgian gem with the Atlas Lions". Bladi.
  51. "From Italy to Albania, the ranks of the Red and Blacks are growing". BalkanWeb. 27 March 2026.
  52. "European Champion with U19, Luis Hasa leaves Italy and chooses the Albanian national team". Vox Albania. 28 March 2026.
  53. Issa, Ouardani; Babas, Latifa (14 March 2026). "Issa Diop to represent Morocco in international football switch". Yabiladi.
  54. Mlhem, Hazem (14 March 2026). "Has Elye Wahi chosen to represent the Ivorian national team soon". Foot Africa.
  55. "Nice's Elye Wahi to represent Côte d'Ivoire at international level". Get French Football News. 15 March 2026.
  56. "🚨🔵 BREAKING: Milica Denda na pragu BiH reprezentacije! ⌛🔔" [🚨🔵 BREAKING: Milica Denda on the verge of joining the BiH national team! ⌛🔔] (in Bosnian). Instagram. 21 December 2025.
  57. "FIFA DALA DOZVOLU: Dres Srbije mijenja za dres BiH" [FIFA GAVE PERMISSION: Serbia's jersey is swapped for BiH's jersey] (in Bosnian). Ljudski. 5 April 2026.
  58. "Okonkwo's switch to Nigeria approved by FIFA". BBC Sport. BBC News. 7 April 2026.
  59. Onyeagwara, Nnamdi (7 April 2026). "Wrexham's Arthur Okonkwo has international allegiance switch to Nigeria accepted by FIFA". The Athletic. New York Times.
  60. "FIFA bestätigt Verbandswechsel: Kardeşler künftig für Türkei spielberechtigt" [FIFA confirms change of association: Kardeşler will be eligible to play for Turkey in the future] (in German). Soccerdonna. 7 April 2026.
  61. "Ermin Mahmić stekao pravo nastupa za BiH" [Ermin Mahmić has earnt the right to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina] (in Bosnian). Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  62. Wallentich, Martin (1 May 2026). "Nationenwechsel: ÖFB verliert U21-Teamspieler" [Nationality change: ÖFB loses U21 team player] (in German). Sky Sport Austria. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  63. Klymenko, Pavlo (8 May 2026). "Хавбек Сараєво гратиме за збірну України замість Боснії та Герцеговини: футболіст змінив спортивне громадянство" [Sarajevo midfielder will play for the Ukraine national team instead of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the footballer has changed his sports citizenship] (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinsʹkyy futbol.
  64. "ФІФА повідомила, що талановитий іноземець зможе грати за збірну України" [FIFA announces that a talented foreigner will be able to play for the Ukraine national team] (in Ukrainian). Sport.ua. 8 May 2026.
  65. "FIFA OKs switch from France to Ivory Coast for Inter Milan's Bonny". ESPN. 9 May 2026.
  66. "Inter striker Bonny completes switch of nationality to Ivory Coast ahead of World Cup". FlashScore. 9 May 2026.
  67. "ΠΑΟΚ: Ο Γκιόκα επέλεξε Ελλάδα και είπε όχι στην εθνική Αλβανίας" [PAOK: Gjoka chooses Greece and says no to the Albania national team] (in Greek). iNews. 11 May 2026.
  68. Temple, Alan (12 May 2026). "EXCLUSIVE: Dario Naamo's Iraq switch DONE as World Cup dream nears reality – but one hurdle remains for Dundee United ace". The Courier.
  69. "Naamo confirms switch to Iraq from Finland". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 May 2026.
  70. "World Cup-bound Iraq gets FIFA approval for 2 new players from clubs in US and Scotland". MSN. 12 May 2026.
  71. "Iraq gets FIFA approval to add two players from clubs in U.S., Scotland". Sportsnet. 12 May 2026.
  72. "CJ Dos Santos' one-time switch from the USSF to Cape Verde was approved yesterday & the San Diego FC goalkeeper is eligible for the World Cup roster. Keyrol Figueroa's switch from USSF to Honduras was approved today". Twitter. 15 May 2026.
  73. "Matias Fernandez-Pardo chooses to represent Belgium". OneFootball. 13 May 2026.
  74. Arnold, Jon (13 May 2026). "Belgium persuade Lille striker Fernandez-Pardo to commit to their World Cup cause". The Annapurna Express.
  75. Togher, Liam (12 May 2026). "Liverpool forward has announced that he's changing his international allegiance". Empire of the Kop.
  76. Davey, Lee (12 May 2026). "Premier League cult hero's son announces national team switch to follow in father's footsteps". Talksport.
  77. "¿Será la sorpresa de Beccacece? Omar Carabalí cambió a Chile por Ecuador ante FIFA" [Will this be Beccacece's surprise? Omar Carabalí swaps Chile for Ecuador with FIFA] (in Spanish). OneFootball. 15 May 2026.
  78. "¿Va al Mundial? Omar Carabalí recibió autorización de la FIFA para ser convocado por Ecuador" [Is he going to the World Cup? Omar Carabalí receives FIFA's authorisation to be called up by Ecuador] (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 15 May 2026.
  79. "Ayyoub Bouaddi switches national team allegiance to Morocco". Yahoo Sports. 15 May 2026.
  80. Hamid, Ashraf (16 May 2026). "Morocco beat France to Ayyoub Bouaddi in major World Cup boost". Reuters.
  81. Serbian Footy (18 May 2026). "We are finally on the board! 😁 Zeljo Pancevo defender Mirko Milikić has made the switch from Montenegro to Serbia. Milikić is a 24 year old CB & was a huge part of his clubs historic top 4 finish & European qualification". Twitter.
  82. "Called up for Chile: Nils Reichmuth experiences the next career highlight". Bluewin. 23 May 2026.
  83. "Meisterspieler Nils Reichmuth erhält Aufgebot für Chiles Nationalteam" [Title winner Nils Reichmuth receives call-up for the Chile national team] (in German). Berner Zeitung. 23 May 2026.
  84. Norrbin, Linus (25 May 2026). "Svenskan byter landslag: "Höll på att storkna"" [Swede changes national team: "I kept getting worse"] (in Swedish). Sportsbladet.
  85. Heppen, Kamil (26 May 2026). "Szwedzi żałują, a Polacy świętują. Spore wzmocnienie! Julia Walentowicz zmienia barwy narodowe" [Swedes mourn, while Poles celebrate. Significant boost! Julia Walentowicz changes national colours] (in Polish). Radio Eska.
  86. Wildie, Tom (29 May 2026). "FIFA World Cup 2026: Cristian Volpato switches allegiance to Socceroos from Italy". ABC News.
  87. Ralston, Nick (29 May 2026). "Volpato makes bombshell switch to the Socceroos days before World Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  88. "Valmir Matoshi says "no" to Switzerland, chooses Kosovo". Reporteri. 25 May 2026.
  89. "Fantastike: Valmir Matoshi e lë Zvicrën, zgjedh përfundimisht Kosovën në nivelin ndërkombëtar" [Fantastic: Valmir Matoshi leaves Switzerland, finally chooses Kosovo at the international level] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 25 May 2026.
  90. "Who is Derrick Luckassen, Ghana's new "Black Star"?". Yahoo Sports. 17 March 2026.
  91. "Le Maroc a officialisé l'arrivée d'un nouveau joueur au sein de la sélection des Lions de l'Atlas" [Morocco finalise the arrival of a new player for the Atlas Lions national team] (in French). Goal. 18 June 2026.
  92. "المغرب يضم لاعبا جديدا لكتيبة أسود الأطلس" [Morocco adds a new player to the Atlas Lions squad] (in Arabic). en. 18 June 2026.
  93. Arnold, Jon (25 June 2026). "Club América forward Giana Riley's one-time switch from the #USWNT to Mexico has been approved. Represented the U.S. at the U-20 World Cup & had been to U-23 camps for both nations, but will now be with El Tri going forward. Potential Concacaf W Championship option in the fall". Twitter.