Is Arsenal midfielder
Gedion Zelalem about to pledge his future to the U.S. national team?
The Insider has learned Zelalem is close to becoming an American citizen, and by virtue, become eligible to represent the United States in international competition. Zelalem, who turned 17 in January, is believed to be in Washington with his father this weekend for naturalization purposes. By the time they return to London, both will likely be carrying U.S. passports.
Zelalem is a German-born midfielder of Ethiopian descent who
lived in the D.C. suburbs for six years and honed his craft with Olney Rangers before joining Arsenal last year [
His Gunners profile]. He trained with the U.S. under-15 team twice, but without citizenship, did not meet eligibility requirements for official matches.
Zelalem is in the German national team system, but in March, abruptly withdrew from the under-17 squad ahead of European Championship qualifiers. Had he played in any of those matches, he would have relinquished any hope of representing the United States. FIFA does allow players to switch affiliations once, provided they are citizens of both countries at the time they make their international debut.
At the time, Arsenal said Zelalem withdrew in order to concentrate on his work with the club’s under-21s. That may well have been true, but international eligibility also seemed to have played into the decision.
Zelalem is eligible for a U.S. passport through the
Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which “serves to facilitate the acquisition of U.S. citizenship of the foreign-born children of U.S. citizens – both biological and adopted – who did not acquire citizenship at birth.”
In other words, because he is under age 18, he would automatically become a citizen when his father becomes a citizen. His father,
Zelalem Wolydes, was a medical technician in the Washington area, and despite joining his son in London, maintained U.S. permanent residency. At some point, he began pursuing citizenship. His application has apparently been approved, and both arrived in Washington in recent days to finalize the process.
Nike.
