Declan Rice's transfer of allegiance from the Republic Of Ireland to England has been approved by FIFA.
The 20-year-old West Ham player announced on February 13th that his international future lies with England rather than Ireland. He had played with Ireland at underage level and also won three senior caps last year, all in friendlies.
As he had not played any competitive fixtures for Ireland, the London-born player was allowed to switch to the country of his birth.
FIFA “can now confirm that the change of association of Declan Rice from Republic of Ireland to England has been approved.”
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) March 5, 2019
Rice made his Ireland debut against Turkey on March 23rd last year. A year on, he could be making his debut for England.
England manager Gareth Southgate next week names his squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro. Today's confirmation from FIFA means that Rice could be part of that squad.
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
