Bizarre FIFA rule blocks Premier League star from switching allegiances and playing at Euro 2024

A Wolves star's dream to play international football was shattered after FIFA blocked his nationality change due to a strange rule.

Despite losing their manager Julen Lopetegui ahead of the season, Wolverhampton Wanderers steadied the ship with Gary O’Neil, finishing 14^th in the 2023/24 Premier League.

With five clean sheets, Wolves finished 20 points away from the relegation zone, with centre back Max Kilman a key part of the season's success.

Despite this, the 27-year-old has never been called up for his home nation England, leading to deciding to switch national allegiance to Ukraine, which he is eligible to represent through his father.

But, despite wanting to commit his future to the Ukrainian team, Kilman was stopped by FIFA for an obscure reason.

Before joining the Premier League, Kilman played futsal, a hardcourt five-a-side football game typically played indoors, for England in 25 matches and, because they were competitive matches, he could not switch his nationality.

Football, futsal and beach soccer are all overseen by FIFA, meaning any player who competes for a country in any of these sports cannot change their nationality.

Had he not played Futsal for England, Kilman could have played for Ukraine, due to his father who was born in Odessa, and he was called up to do so in a training camp ahead of Euro 2020 by then-boss Andriy Shevchenko.

The defender had met the Ukrainian manager before at Chelsea, where Kilman’s younger brother plays at youth level, and spoke with Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko on the phone about his eagerness for the move.

Max Kilman represented England in Futsal between 2015-2018. (Image: Getty)

Speaking to The Athletic, Kilman gave his thoughts on the situation, he said: “It’s crazy. Shevchenko spoke to me and said he wanted me to play for Ukraine. I agreed and they tried to get the paperwork done, but because I represented England futsal in an official qualifier, I couldn’t change.

“If I was a beach soccer player, I couldn’t play international football for a different country either. It sounds very strange. It’s a completely different sport, it’s like tennis and table tennis.

“I travelled over and was just waiting for FIFA to accept everything, but they rejected it. I thought I was going to be in the Euros, it would have been a great end to the season. It didn’t happen.

“So, my only option is England.”

If the move hadn’t been blocked by FIFA, it is almost certain that Kilman would be at his second major tournament with Ukraine, who played their first Euro 2024 match on Monday, losing 3-0 to Romania.

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