The Kyrgyz Football Union is searching abroad for players of Kyrgyz origin who could potentially represent the country’s national teams, KFU General Secretary Mederbek Sydykov has said.
Speaking on Kyrgyz Sport, Sydykov explained that one of the federation’s priorities is to identify talented footballers from Kyrgyz families living overseas and bring them into the national football system.
“There are our guys in Russia, Portugal, Belgium and other European countries. We are watching them,” Sydykov said.
According to the KFU General Secretary, the federation is particularly interested in children of Kyrgyz migrants who were raised and developed as footballers abroad.
Sydykov said Kyrgyzstan already has experience of bringing such players into the national-team system. In this context, he mentioned Eldiyar Zarypbekov, Sirozhiddin Astanakulov, Erbol Atabayev and Alexander Mishchenko.
He also referred to a 2009-born player who had been living in the United States as another example of the federation’s work with young players from the Kyrgyz diaspora.
Sydykov also cited Germany when discussing the role of migrant families in football. He noted that children of migrants there can obtain citizenship, become part of the German football system and eventually represent the country.
The comparison was made in the context of Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to identify footballers with Kyrgyz roots who have grown up abroad, rather than as an argument for large-scale naturalisation of foreign players.
Earlier in the same discussion, Sydykov referred to the aim of developing the national team without relying primarily on naturalisation, while giving priority to players connected to Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz diaspora.
At the same time, he did not completely rule out granting citizenship to a player if the national team faced a shortage in a particular position.
Sydykov stressed, however, that obtaining a Kyrgyz passport alone would not automatically make a footballer eligible for the national team. FIFA eligibility requirements would also have to be met and the necessary sporting clearance obtained.
Kyrgyzstan has long used players who were raised or developed abroad. In previous years, the national team featured Germany-developed footballers such as Vitalij Lux, Viktor Maier and Edgar Bernhardt, while more recent squads have also included players who spent important parts of their development outside Kyrgyzstan.