Teal Bunbury made his decision to switch from representing Canada to representing the United States in international competition in November and has since played two games with the U.S., scoring once. Now, he has filed with FIFA to make the switch from Canada to the United States official and eligible to represent the U.S. in FIFA and continental competitions, according to the website Yanks Abroad.
Teal Bunbury Files One-Time Switch With FIFA From Canada To USA
Bunbury is a dual citizen who was born in Canada to a Canadian father and American mother and moved to the United States at the age of 10. Bunbury's father was a professional soccer player and finished his career in MLS, but played for the Canadian national team. Bunbury followed his father in representing Canada at the youth level, but when he was called by U.S. head coach Bob Bradley to join the Yanks for a November friendly against South Africa, Bunbury accepted.
Bunbury, the 2009 first-round pick by Kansas City out of Akron University, is in the midst of a offseason that has seen his stock shoot up. Bunbury made his U.S. debut against South Africa and had several impressive plays that raised hopes for the 20-year-old. That was followed by an impressive stint with the Generation adidas team of young MLS players that toured Spain and played La Liga reserve teams. Bunbury then spent two weeks training with Stoke City, where again he impressed and even scored in a reserve match. Bunbury's stock hit a high when he was called into the U.S. team yet again in January against Chile and he finished a penalty kick for his first senior team goal.
While Bunbury had not formally filed with FIFA to make the switch from Canada to the United States, he was eligible to play for the U.S. because the matches were just friendlies and as such, not FIFA sanctioned. However, if Bunbury wanted to play in a FIFA or continental competition, such as the World Cup, World Cup qualifying or the Gold Cup, he would have to file for the country change, which he now has.
FIFA rules allow for players who have not played for a country in a FIFA or continental competition to change the country they will represent so long as they had citizenship in that country when they first appeared for the country they are changing from. Players can only change countries once, though, so once FIFA approves Bunbury’s change, he will never be able to represent a country other than the U.S. in official competition. If past applications for the one-time switch are any indication, Bunbury should have his application approved in roughly two months, making him eligible to play for the U.S. in this simmer’s Gold Cup.
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