Flag-switching: Why more World Cup footballers aren’t playing for their birth nations

旗帜转换:为何更多世界杯足球运动员不为他们的出生国效力

What in the World

2026-07-01

12 分钟
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单集简介 ...

The 2026 Fifa Men's World Cup has the highest proportion ever of players representing countries they were not born in - almost a quarter of all the participating players. Several squads, including those from DR Congo, Morocco and Bosnia & Herzegovina, have a team made up mostly of foreign-born players. Of the 26 players who represented Curaçao, only one was born on the Caribbean island. Fernando Duarte, a reporter with the BBC World Service, explains why more World Cup footballers aren’t playing for their birth nations. He also highlights how Morocco, the only African team ever to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, has successfully recruited players from its diaspora. We also hear from football fans around the world about the foreign-born players representing Cape Verde, Curaçao, Morocco and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams Editor: Verity Wilde
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  • A few weeks ago during their World Cup match against Brazil, Morocco's football squad made history.

  • For 25 minutes, not one of their players on the pitch had been born in Morocco.

  • In fact, 19 of the 26 players on their World Cup squad are foreign-born.

  • And Morocco isn't alone.

  • This year, nearly a quarter of the players at the World Cup are competing representing countries they weren't born in.

  • It's by far the highest proportion ever.

  • So today we're looking at why this is and how players choose which country to play for.

  • I'm Hannah and this is What in the World from the BBC World Service.

  • So first, before we get into this, I want to lay out some basic facts.

  • So you probably know each squad at the World Cup has 26 players

  • and several teams have got a squad this year where the majority of players were born abroad.