What to know about the mandatory obligation of National Team Call Ups

Written by: Derrick A Okraku

In football, players remain key and have often earned more protection under the rules of the game. However, one subject remains a bit biased against the players in the matter of call ups for national team assignments. This conversation has become pretty popular as European clubs have found the scheduling of Africa’s prestigious Cup of Nations tournament disturbing, starting on January 9, 2022 in Cameroon.

Per the general rule – Article 3, Annex 1, RSTP - every player registered with a club is obliged to respond affirmatively when called up by the association he is eligible to represent on the basis of his nationality to play for one of its representative teams.

When a player refuses to show up for a call-up with a national team, he is punished by staying out of club duty for the period of the international window plus extra five days. At this point, it is obvious that there’s not much gain in rejecting a call-up if the association does not ignore the request to FIFA to act on the violation of the standard protocol.

Where the reason for the rejection is injury, the national team is again handed the privilege of an assessment as stated in article 4, Annex 1, RSTP;

“A player who due to injury or illness is unable to comply with a call-up from the association that he is eligible to represent on the basis of his nationality shall, if the association so requires, agree to undergo a medical examination by a doctor of that association’s choice. If the player so wishes, such medical examination shall take place on the territory of the association at which he is registered”.

Not many clubs have been very receptive to this part of the law as it resulted in heated exchanges with the associations involved, often, much to the disadvantage of the player. Ahead of AFCON2021, Senegal’s FA have requested same after Watford declared the player unfit after a medical screening.

It is more critical considering that fact that the club a player is registered with is burdened with the responsibility of catering for the injury without financial support from the association;

“The club with which the player concerned is registered shall be responsible for his insurance cover against illness and accident during the entire period of his release. This cover must also extend to any injuries sustained by the player during the international match(es) for which he was released”.

Conditions For Call Ups

Meanwhile, FIFA’s RSTP provides conditions that must be fulfilled by the association to fully activate the request of player call up, and once completed there’s little chance for the player to be absent; associations wishing to call up a player must notify the player and the club he is registered with in writing at least 15 days before the first day of the international window or at least 15 days before the beginning of the relevant release period for an international tournament.

In the absence of temporary amendments to the international window protocol as witnessed in 2020 during the severe phase of the pandemic, the player would be allowed 9 days away from club duty, for two games with the national team during this period. In competitions under any of the six confederations of FIFA or in the case of the world cup or club world cup, the duration may differ.

The club has six days to comply. Any resistance would be quickly addressed by FIFA upon an official request by the association demanding for the call-up, at least 5 days before the needed date.

Covid Makes A Way Out For The Players IF…

The COVID-19 pandemic is not a situation we all deserve but in the context of our subject, it provides some level of convenience for players and clubs to opt-out if they so wish.

The Bureau of the FIFA Council released temporary amendments to all international windows for men’s football and lasted until April 2021, nullifying the obligation of clubs to release players for national team assignments within the stated time frame.

And these rules relating to the release of players to association teams, as provided for in Annex 1, apply as normal, except where:

“There is a mandatory period of quarantine or self-isolation of at least 5 days upon arrival in the location of the club which has an obligation to release the player to an association team or the location where a representative team match is scheduled to take place; there is a travel restriction to or from either location (club or location of national team match) and a specific exemption from the relevant authorities relating to the above decisions has not been granted to players of a representative team”.

In addition, an announcement from international duty has been the preferred choice for players to be omitted from national team squads, often in a bid to focus more on club football. For emphasis, the rules are silent on the effect of this act – self-declared international retirement - as FIFA has given national associations the absolute authority on deciding the fate of players for international assignments.