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102-513: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. As of February 4, 2012 This article about a soccer club from Virginia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . FIFA eligibility rules In association football , the FIFA eligibility rules are the eligibility criteria established by FIFA (International Association Football Federation),

204-480: A "clear connection" to a country that they had not been born in but wished to represent. This ruling explicitly stated that, in such scenarios, the player must have at least one parent or grandparent who was born in that country, or the player must have been resident in that country for at least two years. In November 2007, FIFA President Sepp Blatter told the BBC: "If we don't stop this farce, if we don't take care about

306-411: A FIFA-affiliated association. In 2004, FIFA introduced a rule requiring players to demonstrate a "clear connection" to any country they wish to represent, a response to the trend of naturalising foreign players. FIFA has the authority to overturn results of international matches featuring ineligible players. In January 2021, FIFA revamped the eligibility system, allowing players tied to one nationality

408-623: A UK nation, Northern Ireland attempted to call up Germany-born Maik Taylor, Nigeria-born Dele Adebola and Jamaica-born David Johnson. McMenemy's successor Sammy McIlroy was not pleased with his predecessor's policy, upon being appointed as Northern Ireland manager he said: "It's farcical chasing players with absolutely no connection to our country." Former FA executive David Davies confirmed that England had once considered calling up Italian Carlo Cudicini , Brazilian Edu and Frenchmen Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha during Sven-Göran Eriksson 's time as England manager. In February 2004, there

510-527: A burning image of the Olympic rings rising from the pool. The Opening Ceremony was a pageant of traditional Greek culture and history hearkening back to its mythological beginnings. The program began as a young Greek boy sailed into the stadium on a 'paper-ship' waving the host nation's flag to aethereal music by Manos Hatzidakis and then a centaur appeared, followed by a gigantic head of a cycladic figurine which eventually broke into many pieces symbolising

612-537: A common nationality with at least one other FIFA member association. In these instances, under Article 6.1 of the Regulations Governing the Applications of Statutes, FIFA Statutes (nationality entitling players to represent more than one association), if a player was not born in the member associations' territory and does not have a parent or grandparent that was born in the territory, the player

714-675: A country in virtue of that country's laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country." As there is no United Kingdom national team, he was eligible to choose a "representative team of the country" and opted for Northern Ireland. Eric Young (born in Singapore) and Pat Van Den Hauwe (born in Belgium) had both previously opted for Wales under the same rules in 1985 and 1990 respectively, although both grew up in England; Australian Tony Dorigo had been denied

816-516: A handover ceremony as both nations' flags were raised. The Mayor of Athens , Dora Bakoyianni , passed the Olympic Flag to the Mayor of Beijing , Wang Qishan . After a short cultural performance by Chinese actors, dancers, and musicians directed by eminent Chinese director Zhang Yimou , Rogge declared the 2004 Olympic Games closed. The Olympic flag was next raised again on 10 February 2006 during

918-631: A history with Northern Ireland. Sanchez spoke of his frustration with the rule: "I must stick by the British agreement which says that you shouldn't approach a player unless he has family ties with that particular country. "It's frustrating but my job is to manage the Northern Ireland international team and theirs (the Irish FA ) is to make policy. "I must continue to work with the players I have and I'm very happy to do that. The wording of

1020-625: A nation). In February 2009, the Scottish FA's Gordon Smith put forward a proposal that would allow players educated in the FA's territory who otherwise had no blood connections to the nation to become eligible to represent the nation. The rule was ratified by FIFA in October 2009. 2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( Greek : Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004 , romanized :  Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 2004 ), officially

1122-399: A new nationality , states: Any player who refers to art. 5 par. 1 to assume a new nationality and who has not played international football [in a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition of any category or any type of football] shall be eligible to play for the new representative team only if he fulfils one of the following conditions: a) He was born on the territory of

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1224-482: A new ruling came into effect that permitted a player to represent one country at youth international level and another at senior international level, provided that the player applied before their 21st birthday. The first player to do so was Antar Yahia , who played for the France under-18s before representing Algeria in qualifiers for the 2004 Olympic Games . More recent examples include Sone Aluko , who has caps for

1326-699: A player switching international football nationalities is José Altafini , who played for Brazil in the 1958 FIFA World Cup and for Italy in the subsequent 1962 FIFA World Cup . Other 20th-century examples of players representing two or three separate countries are: This does not include the hundreds of players whose teams were affected by changes to geopolitical borders e.g. East Germany / Germany , Soviet Union / Ukraine , Yugoslavia / Croatia . Furthermore, some international players have played for another FIFA-recognised country in unofficial international matches, i.e. fixtures not recognised by FIFA as full internationals. This category includes: In January 2004,

1428-463: A player to have a choice of representing several national teams. It is not uncommon for national team managers and scouts to attempt to persuade players to change their FIFA nationality; in June 2011, for example, Scotland manager Craig Levein confirmed that his colleagues had started a dialogue with United States under-17 international Jack McBean in an attempt to persuade him to represent Scotland in

1530-548: A result from the cost-benefit analysis, we reach the conclusion that there has been a net economic benefit from the Olympic Games". Cost per sporting event for Athens 2004 was US$ 9.8 million. This compares with US$ 14.9 million for Rio 2016, US$ 49.5 million for London 2012, and US$ 22.5 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per event for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$ 19.9 million. Cost per athlete for Athens 2004

1632-523: A retractable glass roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava . The same architect also designed the Velodrome and other facilities. Infrastructure, such as the tram line linking venues in southern Athens with the city centre, and numerous venues were considerably behind schedule just two months before the start of the Games. The subsequent pace of preparation, however, made the rush to finish

1734-551: A routine with tai chi and acrobatics, followed by dancers from the Peking Opera and finally, a little Chinese girl Chen Tianjia singing a reprise of Mo Li Hua and concluded the presentation by saying "Welcome to Beijing!" The medal ceremony for the last event of the Olympics, the men's marathon , was conducted, with Stefano Baldini from Italy as the winner. The bronze medal winner, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima of Brazil,

1836-565: A schedule of what sports were on the many stations of NBC Universal. The Games were shown on television 24 hours a day, on one network or another. As with any enterprise, the Organizing Committee and everyone involved with it relied heavily on technology in order to deliver a successful event. ATHOC maintained two separate data networks, one for the preparation of the Games (known as the Administrative network) and one for

1938-436: A significantly improved infrastructure, including a new airport, ring road and subway system. There has been debate (mostly in popular media) regarding the cost of the Games and their possible contribution to the 2010–18 Greek government-debt crisis , although there is little or no evidence supporting this claim . The 2004 Games were generally deemed to be a success, with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across

2040-470: A single drummer in the ancient stadium joined in a drum duet with a single drummer in the main stadium in Athens, joining the original ancient Olympic Games with the modern ones in symbolism. At the end of the drum duet, a single flaming arrow was launched from the video screen (symbolically from ancient Olympia) and into the reflecting pool, which resulted in fire erupting in the middle of the stadium creating

2142-403: A team of Scots than win with a team of foreigners. This is not a club side we're talking about it's SCOTLAND...I know the players will definitely be against it". Ahead of a meeting with the other home associations, SFA executive David Taylor urged caution ahead of calls to opt out of the agreement. He said "We have to watch it does not become a free-for-all with the home countries trying to get

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2244-468: A very colourful float parade chronicling Greek history from the ancient Minoan civilization to modern times. Although NBC in the United States presented the entire opening ceremony from start to finish, a topless Minoan priestess was shown only briefly, the breasts having been pixelated digitally in order to avoid controversy (as the " Nipplegate " incident was still fresh in viewer's minds at

2346-541: Is 176%. By late March 2004, some Olympic projects were still behind schedule, and Greek authorities announced that a roof it had initially proposed as an optional, non-vital addition to the Aquatics Center would no longer be built. The main Olympic Stadium, the designated facility for the opening and closing ceremonies, was completed only two months before the Games opened. This stadium was completed with

2448-704: Is able to represent another member association that shares the same common nationality after five years residency. There has been a series of additional agreements between national football associations of the United Kingdom ( The Football Association , the Scottish Football Association , the Football Association of Wales and the Irish Football Association ), the latest of which came in 2010 and

2550-538: The 1991 Mediterranean Games , the 1994 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship , 1994 World Fencing Championships and the successful 1997 World Championships in Athletics , one month before the Olympic host city election was crucial in allaying lingering fears and concerns among the sporting community and some IOC members about the Greek ability to host international sporting events. Another factor that contributed to

2652-438: The 2000 Summer Olympics ), the number of participating nations increased from 199 to 201. Additionally, Yugoslavia had changed its name the year prior to Serbia and Montenegro and its code from YUG to SCG; the country would dissolve two years later, making this its only Olympics appearance under the new moniker. Georgia 's new flag made its debut at the Olympics by unfurling it at the opening ceremony on 13 August. It replaces

2754-534: The Athens Tram become operational, and this system provided additional connections to those already existing between Athens city centre and its waterfront communities along the Saronic Gulf . These communities included the port city of Piraeus , Agios Kosmas (site of the sailing venue), Helliniko (the site of the old international airport which now contained the fencing venue, the canoe/kayak slalom course,

2856-647: The England under-19s and Nigeria , and Andrew Driver , a former England under-21 representative who is committed to the Scotland national team. In March 2004, FIFA amended its wider policy on international eligibility. This was reported to be in response to a growing trend in some countries, such as Qatar and Togo , to naturalise players born and raised elsewhere who have no apparent ancestral links to their new country of citizenship. An emergency FIFA committee ruling judged that players must be able to demonstrate

2958-624: The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας , Agónes tis 28is Olympiádas ), and officially branded as Athens 2004 ( Αθήνα 2004 ), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens , Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries, with 301 medal events in 28 different sports . The 2004 Games marked

3060-836: The Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes . Friendly match appearances do not commit a player to one country; Jermaine Jones played several friendlies for Germany but made his debut for the United States in 2010. Thiago Motta had three caps for Brazil in matches deemed friendlies for Brazil (participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup as a non-conference guest team) and went on to represent Italy for five years. Diego Costa represented Brazil in two friendlies before switching his allegiances to Spain in 2013, going on to represent

3162-495: The UEFA European Championship ). However, appearing in a tournament qualifier would not prohibit a change of eligibility. Furthermore, players who played for their home country but not at senior level, who were under 21 at the time and have since lived in a new country for five years or more can apply for the right to represent their new place of residence. This also applies to players that began living on

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3264-752: The opening ceremony of the next Winter Olympics in Torino . A young Greek girl, 10-year-old Fotini Papaleonidopoulou , lit a symbolic lantern with the Olympic Flame and passed it on to other children before "extinguishing" the flame in the cauldron by blowing a puff of air. The ceremony ended with a variety of musical performances by Greek singers, including Dionysis Savvopoulos , George Dalaras , Haris Alexiou , Anna Vissi , Sakis Rouvas , Eleftheria Arvanitaki , Alkistis Protopsalti, Antonis Remos , Michalis Hatzigiannis , Marinella , and Dimitra Galani, as thousands of athletes carried out symbolic displays on

3366-573: The (English) Football Association (FA) had advised the player's agent that the international change of allegiance could go ahead. However, the SFA discovered that as he had an English mother, he was not able to represent any Home nation other than England as a result. The SFA had chosen to abide by the agreement; unlike the Irish Football Association (IFA), who in addition to courting David Johnson had capped Germany-born Maik Taylor

3468-628: The 15,000-seat Helliniko Olympic Basketball Arena , and the softball and baseball stadia), and the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex (site of the taekwondo, handball, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball venues, as well as the newly reconstructed Karaiskaki Stadium for football). The upgrades to the Athens Ring Road were also delivered just in time, as were the expressway upgrades connecting central Athens with peripheral areas such as Markopoulo (site of

3570-488: The 2004 Games, becoming the first broadcaster to do so. Following the artistic performances, a parade of nations entered the stadium with over 10,500 athletes walking under the banners of 201 nations. The nations were arranged according to Greek alphabet making the Philippines , Finland , Fiji , Chile , and Hong Kong the last five to enter the stadium before the Greek delegation. On this occasion, in observance of

3672-489: The 35-year-old, before slowly swinging up and lifting the flame above the stadium. Following this, a fireworks display commenced to conclude the ceremony. All National Olympic Committees (NOCs) except Djibouti participated in the Athens Games. Two new NOCs had been created since 2000 and made their debut at these Games ( Kiribati and East Timor ). Therefore, with the return of Afghanistan (who had been banned from

3774-649: The Athens venues one of the tightest in Olympics history. The Greeks, unperturbed, maintained that they would make it all along. By July/August 2004, all venues were delivered: in August, the Olympic Stadium was officially completed and opened, joined or preceded by the official completion and openings of other venues within the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA), and the sports complexes in Faliro and Helliniko. Late July and early August witnessed

3876-488: The England B team and had been an unused substitute for the England under-21s. In late September 1999, the Ipswich Town forward was called up by Wales (and withdrew from the squad due to injury) and later Scotland. The Welsh and Scottish FAs believed he was eligible to play for them. Johnson was a Jamaican immigrant who was raised by foster parents in England, and he believed he could choose which UK nation to represent;

3978-585: The Games themselves (Games Network). The technical infrastructure involved more than 11,000 computers, over 600 servers , 2,000 printers , 23,000 fixed-line telephone devices, 9,000 mobile phones, 12,000 TETRA devices, 16,000 TV and video devices and 17 Video Walls interconnected by more than 6,000 kilometers of cabling (both optical fiber and twisted pair ). This infrastructure was created and maintained to serve directly more than 150,000 ATHOC Staff, Volunteers, Olympic family members ( IOC , NOCs , Federations), Partners & Sponsors and Media. It also kept

4080-552: The Games, Greek hotel staff staged a series of one-day strikes over wage disputes. They had been asking for a significant raise for the period covering the event being staged. Paramedics and ambulance drivers also protested. They claimed to have the right to the same Olympic bonuses promised to their security force counterparts. The lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame took place on 25 March 2004 in Ancient Olympia . For

4182-445: The Games. The TOC was organized in teams (e.g. Systems, Telecommunications, Information Security, Data Network, Staffing, etc.) under a TOC Director and corresponding team leaders (Shift Managers). The TOC operated on a 24x7 basis with personnel organized into 12-hour shifts. The opening ceremony of the games, directed by choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou and produced by Jack Morton Worldwide , led by project director David Zolkwer ,

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4284-409: The Games. They were not allowed to post audio, video, or photos that they had taken. An exception was made if an athlete already has a personal website that was not set up specifically for the Games. NBC launched its own Olympic website, NBCOlympics.com. Focusing on the television coverage of the Games, it did provide video clips, medal standings, live results. Its main purpose, however, was to provide

4386-492: The Greek capital's selection was a growing sentiment among some IOC members to restore some original values of the Olympics to the Modern Games, a component which they felt was lost during the 1996 Summer Olympics. After leading all voting rounds, Athens easily defeated Rome in the fifth and final vote. Cape Town , Stockholm , and Buenos Aires (the latter won the rights to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in 2013),

4488-403: The Greek islands. Underneath the cycladic head was a Hellenistic representation of the human body, reflecting the concept and belief in perfection reflected in Greek art. A man was seen balancing on a hovering cube symbolising man's eternal 'split' between passion and reason followed by a couple of young lovers playfully chasing each other while the god Eros was hovering above them. There followed

4590-472: The Greek state specifically in the form of incremental social security contributions, income taxes and VAT tax paid by all the companies, professionals, and service providers that were directly involved with the Olympic Games. Moreover, it is reported that the Athens 2004 Olympic Games have had a great economic growth impact on the Greek economy, in the words of the Greek Minister of Finance, is that "as

4692-535: The IOC as disciplines within the sport of aquatics , and wheelchair racing was a demonstration sport. For the first time, the wrestling category featured women's wrestling and in the fencing competition women competed in the sabre . American Kristin Heaston , who led off the qualifying round of women's shot put became the first woman to compete at the ancient site of Olympia. The demonstration sport of wheelchair racing

4794-562: The Olympic flag of the Athens Games between the mayor of Athens and the mayor of Beijing, host city of the next Olympics. After the flag exchange a presentation from the Beijing delegation presented a glimpse into Chinese culture for the world to see. Beijing University students (who were at first incorrectly cited as the Twelve Girls Band ) sang Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) accompanied by a ribbon dancer, then some male dancers did

4896-823: The Organising Committee, and by President Dr. Jacques Rogge of the IOC , in which he described the Athens Olympics as "unforgettable, dream Games". Dr. Rogge had previously declared he would be breaking with tradition in his closing speech as President of the IOC and that he would never use the words of his predecessor Juan Antonio Samaranch , who used to always say 'these were the best ever games'. Dr. Rogge had described Salt Lake City 2002 as "superb games" and in turn would continue after Athens 2004 and describe Turin 2006 as "truly magnificent games." The national anthems of Greece and China were played in

4998-546: The United Kingdom, are represented by constituent associations (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), while other associations represent regions not typically recognized as independent countries, such as dependent territories (e.g., Gibraltar ), autonomous states or territories (e.g., the Faroe Islands , Kosovo ), and enclaves, principalities, or microstates (e.g., San Marino ). Not all countries have

5100-577: The agreement was adjusted and published by FIFA in December 2006: 3. British associations 134 England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 135 e.g. a player who was born on the Cayman Islands and holds British nationality In October 2008, Spanish striker Nacho Novo said that he would apply for a British passport if it meant he'd become eligible to play for Scotland . The SFA stated that he would not be eligible as they would abide by

5202-461: The agreement. The agreement was completely revised in 2009 following a rewrite of the FIFA statutes in 2008. The loophole regarding British players born abroad and selecting a national team had been closed and then reopened. The revised ruling also removed the possibility of ineligibility due to a foreign-born adopted player having no parental or grand-parental links to a nation, as it is based on where

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5304-463: The amount of €8.5 billion. The same report further explains that €2 billion of this amount was covered by the revenue of the ATHOC (from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc.) and that another €2 billion was directly invested in upgrading hospitals and preserving archaeological sites. Therefore, the net infrastructure costs related to the preparation of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games

5406-482: The best players available," "It goes to the heart of why we exist as a separate country and could force people into asking why we do not have a UK football team." On 1 March 2004, the four British associations voted to retain the agreement. In January 2006, Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez had his hopes of bringing in players born outside Northern Ireland – but who held a British passport – dashed. Irish FA chiefs told Sanchez he could only select players who have

5508-432: The chance to play for his birth nation by his club manager at Aston Villa due to the travelling distances and low standards of opposition, and successfully obtained citizenship in 1986 in order to play for England – but had no relevant British ancestry and could have represented any of the home nations. Players in the same situation today would only be allowed to represent the territory of their (grand)parent's birthplace as

5610-476: The city was bidding, the 2004 bid was lauded for its low scale, humility, honest and earnestness, its focused message, and a more real and detailed bid concept. During the unsuccessful 1996 bid, concerns and criticisms were raised – primarily regarding critical subjects about the city's infrastructural readiness, its air pollution, its budget and politicization of the Games' events and their preparations. The subsequent successful organization of other events such as

5712-648: The clause has been amended to refer to the Football Association's "territory" and not "country". The four associations met on 27 February 1993 at Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) released minutes from the meeting to the press. On the occasion of the meeting of the International Football Association Board on 27 February 1993 the four British associations ratified

5814-614: The cost-benefit evaluation of the impact of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games presented to the Greek Parliament in January 2013 by the Minister of Finance Mr. Giannis Stournaras , the overall net economic benefit for Greece was positive. The Greek Ministry of Finance reported in 2013 that the expenses of the Greek state for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including both infrastructure and organizational costs, reached

5916-499: The event by her and the poet Sjón . The opening ceremony culminated in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by 1996 gold medalist windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis . Many key moments in the ceremony, including the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, featured music composed and arranged by New Zealand composer John Psathas . The gigantic cauldron, which was styled after the Athens 2004 Olympic torch, pivoted down to be lit by

6018-505: The first time ever, the flame travelled around the world in a relay to various Summer Olympic host cities (past and future) and other large cities, before returning to Greece. Mascots have been a tradition at the Olympic Games since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble , France. The 2004 Olympics had two official mascots: Athena and Phevos (Greek pronunciation: Athina and Fivos). The sister and brother were named after Athena ,

6120-512: The first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance, and also marked the first time Athens hosted the Games since their first modern incarnation in 1896 as well as the return of the Olympic games to its birthplace. Athens became the fourth city to host the Summer Olympic Games on two occasions (together with Paris , London and Los Angeles ). A new medal obverse

6222-492: The first time, major broadcasters were allowed to serve video coverage of the Olympics over the Internet, provided that they restricted this service geographically, to protect broadcasting contracts in other areas. The International Olympic Committee forbade Olympic athletes, as well as coaches, support personnel and other officials, from setting up specialized weblogs or other websites for covering their personal perspective of

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6324-473: The following agreement, which came into force on 1 February 1993, on the criteria which should determine the eligibility of the player to be selected for one of the national teams of the British associations: David Johnson was a Jamaican international who had played four games for the Caribbean nation; his most recent game was a friendly against United States on 9 September 1999. He had previously played for

6426-454: The four home associations it is not enough any more." The agreement is often erroneously thought to be a response to cases similar to Maik Taylor , who was born in Germany to an English father and chose to represent Northern Ireland at international level despite having no ties to the nation. Taylor was called up to Northern Ireland in 1998, five years after the 1993 (gentlemen's) agreement

6528-474: The future. Gareth Bale was asked about a possibility to play for England , being of English descent through his grandmother, but ultimately opted to represent Wales , his country of birth. In June 2009, FIFA Congress passed a motion that removed the age limit for players who had already played for a country's national team at youth level to change national associations. This ruling features in Article 18 of

6630-513: The goddess of wisdom, strategy and Phoebus , the god of light and music, respectively. They were inspired by the ancient daidala , which were toy dolls that also had religious connotations. Athens Olympic Broadcasting served as the host broadcaster for the Games, providing over 35,000 hours of coverage to over 300 television channels around the world. Local rights to the Games were held by ERT which devoted their three channels ( ET1 , NET and ET3 ) to more than 24 hours of Olympic coverage. For

6732-758: The governing body for rugby union , specifies that if a player has been legally adopted under the laws of the relevant country, descent is traced through the adoptive parent(s). This replacement also applies in cases where the player was not adopted, but one or both biological parents were themselves adopted. In September 2020, the 70th edition of the FIFA Congress approved a rule change that now allows players to switch 3 years later if they have played no more than three competitive matches at senior level prior to them turning 21 including no appearances in FIFA World Cup finals matches or continental finals (e.g.

6834-613: The information flowing for all spectators, TV viewers, Website visitors and news readers around the world, prior and during the Games. The Media Center was located inside the Zappeion which is a Greek national exhibition center. Between June and August 2004, the technology staff worked in the Technology Operations Center (TOC) from where it could centrally monitor and manage all the devices and flow of information, as well as handle any problems that occurred during

6936-544: The invaders from Brazil towards Europe, Asia and Africa then, in the 2014 or the 2018 World Cup, out of the 32 teams you will have 16 full of Brazilian players." The residency requirement for players lacking birth or ancestral connections with a specific country was extended from two to five years in May 2008 at FIFA's Congress as part of Blatter's efforts to preserve the integrity of competitions involving national teams. The relevant current FIFA statute, Article 7: Acquisition of

7038-494: The latter at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups . Apostolos Giannou represented Greece in a friendly in 2015, before switching his allegiances to Australia , making his debut for the latter in March 2016. A FIFA Player's Status Committee is responsible for making such judgements. Under FIFA rules, eligibility by descent is strictly limited to biological descent; adoption is not considered at all. By contrast, World Rugby ,

7140-533: The men's football tournament at the 2015 Pacific Games , which also determines the 2016 Oceania Olympic Football qualifier, Deklan Wynne , who was born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand from early childhood, played in the semi-final for New Zealand, who won the match 3–0. After the game, a protest was lodged by their opponents Vanuatu , on the basis that Wynne was not an eligible player. As Wynne

7242-477: The official pop album of the Athens Olympics, in the leadup to the Olympics. It features contributions from Sting , Lenny Kravitz , Moby , Destiny's Child , and Avril Lavigne . EMI has pledged to donate US$ 180,000 from the album to UNICEF 's HIV/AIDS program in Sub-Saharan Africa . At least 14 people died during the work on the facilities. Most of these people were not from Greece. Before

7344-489: The option to switch allegiance to another nation. Fielding ineligible players can lead to sanctions, including the overturning of match results. Historically, it was possible for players to play for different national teams. For example, Alfredo Di Stéfano played for Argentina (1947) and Spain (1957–61). Di Stefano's Real Madrid teammate Ferenc Puskás also played for Spain after amassing 85 caps for Hungary earlier in his career. A third high-profile instance of

7446-455: The player is educated before the age of 18. The home nations have agreed to remove a clause that enables players to gain eligibility for one of the eight national teams due to residency. The FIFA statutes state that "Associations sharing a common nationality may make an agreement under which item (d) of par. 1 of this article is deleted completely or amended to specify a longer time limit". The clause removed is: (d) He has lived continuously on

7548-445: The post-Soviet flag, which had been used since Lillehammer 1994 . In the table below, the number in parentheses indicates the number of participants contributed by each NOC. 10,557 athletes from 201 NOCs participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics. The sports featured at the 2004 Summer Olympics are listed below. Officially there were 301 events in 28 sports as swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo are classified by

7650-470: The preparation and organisation of the Games, concluded its operations as a company in 2005 with a surplus of € 130.6 million. The State's contribution to the total ATHOC budget was 8% of its expenditure against an originally anticipated 14%. The overall revenue of ATHOC, including income from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc., totalled near €2.1 billion. The largest percentage of that income (38%) came from media rights. According to

7752-608: The previous year. Taylor was in the same situation as Johnson: he was born outside of the UK with one English parent. The Herald reported that "It is important to highlight, that under the agreement signed by the four British associations, the UK passport clause is only operative in the event that the player, his natural mother and father and his natural grandparents, are all born outside the United Kingdom". A Football Association of Wales (FAW) spokesman Cerri Stennett said that they were "extremely puzzled by this development" and they thought "he

7854-400: The relevant association; b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association; c) His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association; d) He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association. Under the criteria generally, it is possible for

7956-605: The right to host the Summer Olympics in 2004. The success of Athens in securing the 2004 Games was based largely on the bid's appeal to human values, the history of the Games from ancient age and modern age and the emphasis that Athens is placed at the pivotal role that Greece and Athens could play in promoting the Modern Olympism and the Olympic Movement. Unlike the 1996 bid that was seen arrogant when

8058-634: The shooting and equestrian venues), the newly constructed Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport , Schinias (site of the rowing venue), Maroussi (site of the OAKA), Parnitha (site of the Olympic Village), Galatsi (site of the rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis venue), and Vouliagmeni (site of the triathlon venue). The upgrades to the Athens Metro were also completed, and the new lines became operational by mid-summer. EMI released Unity ,

8160-637: The sport's governing body, to facilitate the selection of representative teams for international competitions. Specifically, FIFA maintains and implements rules determining a player's eligibility to represent a particular national team in officially sanctioned international competitions and friendly matches. Traditionally, athlete eligibility has been tied to legal nationality, allowing players with multiple nationalities to represent more than one country, especially after naturalisation. However, national teams are organised by national football associations, not all of which are affiliated with FIFA. Some countries, like

8262-503: The stadium floor. These are the top ten nations that won medals in the 2004 Games.   *    Host nation ( Greece ) To commemorate the 2004 Olympics, a series of Greek high value euro collectors' coins were minted by the Mint of Greece, in both silver and gold. The pieces depict landmarks in Greece as well as ancient and modern sports on the obverse of the coin. On

8364-457: The stadium to watch the ceremony. The initial part of the ceremony interspersed the performances of various Greek singers, and featured traditional Greek dance performances from various regions of Greece (Crete, Thessaly, etc.). The event was meant to highlight the pride of the Greeks in their culture and country for the world to see. A significant part of the closing ceremony was the exchange of

8466-598: The territory before the age of 10 for at least three years. FIFA also facilitates a reversal of a change request in certain specific circumstances. FIFA takes punitive action against teams that field ineligible players. In August 2011, FIFA expelled Syria from the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification process following the appearance of George Mourad in a senior qualification match against Tajikistan . Mourad had made friendly match appearances for Sweden earlier in his career, but had not requested permission from FIFA to change national associations before playing for Syria. At

8568-443: The territory of the relevant Association for at least two years If the home nations' associations had chosen not to remove or alter the 'd' clause and instead use the default FIFA statute clauses, players with a home nation nationality would be able to transfer to a club in another home nation and be eligible for that national team after a period of two years (providing they have not been capped or played in an official competition for

8670-571: The three other cities that made the IOC shortlist, were eliminated in prior rounds of voting. Six other cities submitted applications, but their bids were dropped by the IOC in 1996. These cities were Istanbul , Lille , Rio de Janeiro (the latter won the rights to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in 2009), San Juan , Seville , and Saint Petersburg . The 2004 Summer Olympic Games cost the Government of Greece near €9 billion to stage. The Athens 2004 Organizing Committee (ATHOC), responsible for

8772-533: The time) and potential fines by the Federal Communications Commission . Also, lower frontal nudity of men dressed as ancient Greek statues was shown in such a way that the area below the waist was cut off by the bottom of the screen. Overall, NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been praised, and the company was awarded with 6 Emmy Awards for its coverage of the Games and technical production. Additionally, NBC televised all 28 sports in

8874-441: The tradition that the delegation of Greece opens the parade and the host nation closes it, the Greek flag bearer opened the parade and all the Greek delegation closed it. Based on audience reaction, the emotional high point of the parade was the entrance of the delegation from Afghanistan which had been absent from the Olympics and had female competitors for the first time. The Iraqi delegation also stirred emotions. Also recognized

8976-554: The world. The final medal tally was led by the United States , followed by China and Russia with host nation Greece in 15th place. Several world and Olympic records were also broken during these Games. Chile , Chinese Taipei , Dominican Republic , Georgia and Israel won their first Olympic gold medals. Eritrea and Paraguay won their first Olympic medals. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) won both their first Olympic medal and gold medal in this event. Athens

9078-556: Was 20 years old, it was impossible for him to have already lived in New Zealand for five years after the age of 18. This protest was upheld by the Oceania Football Confederation , resulting in New Zealand being disqualified and Vanuatu taking their place in the final. During the 2018 World Cup qualifiers Bolivia fielded Paraguayan ‑born Nelson David Cabrera (who had also played for Paraguay) in two matches—against Peru on 1 September 2016 (the match

9180-421: Was US$ 0.3 million. This compares with US$ 0.4 million for Rio 2016, US$ 1.4 million for London 2012, and US$ 0.6 million for Beijing 2008. Average cost per athlete for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$ 0.6 million. Cost overrun for Athens 2004 was 49%, measured in real terms from the bid to host the Games. This compares with 51% for Rio 2016 and 76% for London 2012. Average cost overrun for the Summer Games since 1960

9282-522: Was a joint Olympic/ Paralympic event, allowing a Paralympic event to occur within the Olympics, and for the future, opening up the wheelchair race to the able-bodied. The 2004 Summer Paralympics were also held in Athens, from 17 to 28 September. The Games were concluded on 29 August 2004. The closing ceremony was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium , where the Games had been opened 16 days earlier. Around 70,000 people gathered in

9384-669: Was a lot of media speculation in Scotland about the possibility of Frenchman Didier Agathe and Italian Lorenzo Amoruso playing for Scotland. Berti Vogts , the German head coach of Scotland, appeared to be in favour of fielding the players. Scotland's playing captain Christian Dailly felt differently, telling the Daily Record newspaper that "I don't care if they call in Zinedine Zidane . I would rather lose with

9486-573: Was chosen as the host city during the 106th IOC Session held in Lausanne , Switzerland on 5 September 1997. The Greek capital had lost its bid to organize the 1996 Summer Olympics to the American city of Atlanta nearly seven years before, during the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo, Japan on 18 September 1990. Under the direction of Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki , Athens pursued another bid, this time for

9588-404: Was eligible to play for any of the four home countries and that's why Lawrie McMenemy wanted him for Northern Ireland as well." Stennett stated that FIFA gave clearance to Johnson switch allegiance to Wales' national squad and "he was on the substitute's bench for a match." Under Lawrie McMenemy 's stewardship, Northern Ireland went through a phase of trying to call up players who had no links to

9690-499: Was held on 13 August 2004. It began with a twenty-eight (the number of the Olympiads up to then) second countdown paced by the sounds of an amplified heartbeat. As the countdown was completed, fireworks rumbled and illuminated the skies overhead. After a drum corps and bouzouki players joined in an opening march, the video screen showed images of flight, crossing southwest from Athens over the Greek countryside to ancient Olympia. Then,

9792-461: Was in place. The agreement was not applied when Taylor was called up by the IFA, possibly because in his case, neither the FA, SFA nor FAW was interested in capping him, unlike e.g. David Johnson (below) and so raised no objection. Taylor was eligible to play for Northern Ireland due to FIFA regulations allowing him to. The relevant statute of the time read: "Any player who is a naturalised citizen of

9894-543: Was introduced at these Games, replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since 1928 . The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens rectifying the long-running mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue. The 2004 Olympic Games were hailed as "unforgettable dream games" by then- IOC President Jacques Rogge , and left Athens with

9996-429: Was ratified by FIFA . In 1990, Nigel Spackman wanted to be called up by Scotland during his time at Rangers F.C. through his Scottish grandfather. However at the time, the four British Associations did not choose to accept players without parents pertaining to the nation. The Herald reported that "until recently that would have been enough to give him qualification to play for Scotland. But under an agreement by

10098-589: Was simultaneously announced as a recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for his bravery in finishing the race despite being attacked by a rogue spectator while leading with 7 km to go. A flag-bearer from each nation's delegation then entered along the stage, followed by the competitors en masse on the floor. All of them were led by Pyrros Dimas (weightlifter) and Liu Xiang (hurdler). Short speeches were presented by Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki , President of

10200-654: Was the symbolic unified march of athletes from North Korea and South Korea under the Korean Unification Flag . The country of Kiribati made its debut appearance at these Games and East Timor made a debut under its own flag. After the Parade of Nations, during which the Dutch DJ Tiësto provided the music, the Icelandic singer Björk performed the song " Oceania ", written specially for

10302-464: Was won 2–0 by Bolivia) and against Chile on 6 September 2016 (the match finished in a scoreless draw). Cabrera was subsequently found to be ineligible by FIFA, which resulted in the awarding of 3–0 wins for Bolivia's opponents, affecting the final standings in the table and contributing to Peru's qualification for the World Cup at the expense of Chile. There are 25 FIFA member associations that share

10404-436: Was €4.5 billion, substantially lower than the reported estimates, and mainly included long-standing fixed asset investments in numerous municipal and transport infrastructures. On the revenue side, the same report estimates that incremental tax revenues of approximately €3.5 billion arose from the increased activities caused by the Athens 2004 Olympic Games during the period 2000 to 2004. These tax revenues were paid directly to

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