The International Olympic Committee has just decided that all Olympic competitors must hold the passport of the country they want to represent. This will eliminate many players who used to qualify under the 'flag of convenience', including some promising Chinese and Indonesian imports who recently represented Hong Kong in the TC/UC round in Kuala Lumpur. This ruling will put an end to, say a Nigerian soccer star playing for Poland, in the Olympics. Playing under the 'flag of convenience' could decimate a poor country's sporting aspirations.
That's a good idea... brings the focus back to player development in weaker nations instead of encouraging 'buying' of championships. It's too bad for those players who went abroad for the chance of glory... but then again, the Olympics is about glory for country instead of individual honors.
It's interesting because I was listen about this very issue on RTHK Radio the other day, and it was talking about how a number of Hong Kong swimmers won't be able to compete for Hong Kong at Athens because they don't hold SAR passports. They are British citizens but have always lived in HK, competed for HK, and feel in their hearts that their home is HK. Unfortunately, they don't have an HK passport, so their eligibility is up in the air. Cappy, I understand though the reasoning behind this rule, which is to prevent countries from buying "free agents" to increase their medal counts.
