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FIFA REJECT ANGOLA BID
A bid by former Portuguese international Edgar to play for Angola in next year’s World Cup finals has been rejected by FIFA because the striker did not apply for a switch in allegiance in time.
A FIFA spokesman said on Thursday that the 28-year-old, who plays for Real Malaga in Spain, will not be allowed to change his footballing nationality in spite of only having competed for Portugal in one senior international, a friendly match seven years ago.
Edgar, who was born in Luanda, submitted his request to play for Angola in July, missing by six months a deadline set by world football’s governing body .
A change in FIFA statutes two years ago allows players who had represented one country at junior level to play for another country if they are entitled to double nationality and aged under 21.
Players aged over 21 were given exemption for a year but had to make their applications to FIFA before a deadline of December 31 last year.
Edgar, whose previous clubs include Benfica and Real Madrid, also played for Portugal in competitive junior internationals, including the World Youth Championships in Qatar in 1995.
His only full international match was as a substitute for the last 17 minutes of a friendly against Mozambique in Ponta Delgado in August, 1998.