Nigerian striker Victor Igbekoyi Kayode was included in the
19-man squad after he showed interest to play for Sierra
Leone in June when he was introduced to
Leone Stars coach Lars Olof Mattsson by the suspended skipper Ibrahim Kargbo.
The Azerbaijan-based player trained with Leone Stars when
the team prepared for their last three games against Cape
Verde , Equatorial
Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe respectively.
However, the 25-year-old, who was born in Nigeria
but has not been capped by the country of his birth, does not seem to meet any
of Fifa's criteria to qualify to play for Sierra
Leone .
According to Article 17 of football's world governing body's
statutes, a player wishing to acquire a
new nationality must fulfil at least one of the following conditions:
He was born on the territory of the relevant Association
His biological mother or biological father was born on the
territory of the relevant Association
His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of
the relevant Association
He has lived continuously for at least five years after
reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association.
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Acting general
secretary of the SLFA Abdul Rahman Swarray says it is now looking into the
matter.
"We included Igbekoyi in the squad at the request of
the Leone Stars coach Lars Olof Mattsson but we are carefully studying the
situation.
"We'll soon contact Fifa to clarify his status as to
whether or not he can play for Sierra Leone ."
Apart from Igbekoyi, there are five other uncapped players
in the Leone Stars squad for what is a crucial encounter with Tunisia
in Freetown .
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