Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has submitted a request to FIFA to swap his international allegiance from England to Cote d’Ivoire.
The 24-year-old Zaha was an England Under-21 team regular before stepping up to the senior side and earning caps against Sweden, in November 2012, and Scotland, in August 2013. These games were in friendlies and so he is allowed to switch.
This means that the Abidjan-born winger would be eligible to feature in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations which starts on 14 January in Gabon.
If he is picked to be part of the team, it could see him miss up to six weeks of the season for Palace.
The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) said in a statement: “The Ivorian-English attacking midfielder Wilfried Zaha has chosen to play for the Elephants, under the colours of the Ivory Coast, his country of origin. The player has sent, on this Sunday November 27 2016, correspondence to FIFA to change his national team.
“Approached several weeks ago by the Federation Ivoirienne de Football (FIF), Wilfried Zaha has made his choice this Sunday in London.
“In the presence of his father, of Augustin Sidy Diallo (president of the FIF) and Michel Dussuyer (Elephants coach), he signed at the bottom of the demand to change his sporting nationality addressed to FIFA.
“Born on November 10 in Abidjan, Wilfried Zaha grew up in England, the country for which he made two appearances in friendly matches. However, the Crystal Palace player remains eligible to play for the Ivory Coast.”
Palace boss Alan Pardew said on Friday that Zaha had been “pushed forward, probably by his agent or people around him” to make the change but could “understand his frustration” at not being picked for England.
Zaha, who moved to England as a child, joined the Palace academy aged 12 and had a short spell with Manchester United.
