14 DAY TRIAL // A Yorkshire teenage girl is not allowed to play for the local football team because she is Spanish.
Carmen Olmos, a boarder at Fulneck School, Pudsey, Leeds, has been said that she can play for the school but is banned from teams that participate in a competitive league.
Although the 14-year-old girl is a talented young footballer and a regular for her school side, FIFA regulations say that she is not eligible to join community club Wortley FC.
The Football Association said it was not able to obtain “international clearance” to let her play for the local team and participate in the local league. FA representatives claim that their hands are tied by FIFA regulations.
Officials at Fulneck School support her and think the rules are simply absurd.
“Carmen is a fantastic footballer and is desperate to play in a competitive league. Not allowing her to play is plain crazy,” head of sport, Dave Needham, said, according to Metro.
He also revealed that Carmen had some trials at Wortley Girls FC and enjoyed them very much. The club officials wrote to the FA to check if the girl needed an International Transfer Certificate, as she was not previously registered with either a Spanish or English club.
To everyone's surprise, the answer was that she could only play for the school, but not for the local team.
Robert Greaves, secretary of the women’s teams at the club, said, “It seems to be a rule designed for professional clubs and it’s the same rule for everyone – which is not appropriate. You can see that if a club’s running an academy and looking after young players, they don’t want other clubs enticing them. But this is a girl who is at school in Leeds and wants to play football.”
Carmen confessed she was very disappointed and unhappy with the decision.