Soccer star to swap England for Jamaica

Thomas Tuchel will announce his first squad as England manager next Thursday, March 13, and one player who will certainly not be on the list for the upcoming games against Albania and Latvia is Mason Greenwood.

This has been confirmed by Mark Bullingham, Chief Executive of the English FA: “My understanding is that he has requested to switch. Because that has now been formally processed, he could no longer be selected by England, as you can only change once.” The switch would be to the Jamaican national team.

Why has Greenwood chosen Jamaica England?

Last October, The Sun reported that the Olympique de Marseille player, 23 years old and signed for approximately $28 million, was aware that ‘his chances of playing for England again were very slim,’ but wanted to consult with the FA and with Tuchel, following his appointment, to gauge their thoughts. The report also added that “if England didn’t want him, he would switch to Jamaica and aim to reach the 2026 World Cup that way.”

Since then, Greenwood — who has recorded 16 goals and three assists in his first season with the French club — has continued to make his case for consideration by the German coach, but has ultimately decided to represent the national team of his ancestors, as he was born in Bradford but has Jamaican heritage. Several English outlets report that the Manchester United academy graduate and former Getafe player “has signed all the necessary paperwork” to represent Jamaica.

In comments published by The Athletic, Bullingham was asked whether the FA had ever directly told Greenwood that he was not part of Tuchel’s plans. He responded: “I know people asked Gareth [Southgate] about him, and Gareth was honest that he hadn’t been in his thinking — but that was because he hadn’t been performing at that level. I’m not aware of any direct communication we had with him. I don’t believe there was ever a request or anything like that. It just wasn’t something we reached, so it’s his personal decision.”

Five years after making his debut for the Three Lions, Greenwood will now join the Jamaican national team, which already features several players who opted to represent the country of their family or ancestors due to a lack of opportunities with England. This includes the likes of Michail Antonio of West Ham, Bobby Decordova-Reid of Leicester City, and Demarai Gray, currently playing for Al-Ettifaq.

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