German Football Federation (DFB) managing director Andreas Rettig has said that national governing bodies should get compensation if a player decides to play for another country.
“The fact that a change of association takes place at no cost disturbs my sense of justice. Training must be worthwhile, also for the trainer. We want to take this approach,” Rettig told the Augsburger Allgemeine daily.
“There are players who have come through our youth teams from the U15 to the U21 and then join another association. Of course, training is largely the responsibility of the clubs, but the association also has some players under its care for up to 75 days a year.”
Under rules of the world governing body FIFA, players can normally switch eligibility as long as they have played no official senior team match for a country. Any changes, such as a training compensation fee, would have to be made by FIFA.
The issue recently arose again in Germany when attacking talent Can Uzun of Eintracht Frankfurt decided to play for Turkey and not Germany.
Rettig said that “this is one of the major issues for the future at the DFB” because “there is real competition for talent.
“In a country with 80 million inhabitants, there is a certain potential. If parents and families in general have strong ties to their home country, it’s clear that players will feel that too,” Rettig said.
