Why does Zakaria Labyad play for Morocco?

Birthplace and citizenship

Zakaria Labyad was born in Utrecht, Netherlands; holds Kingdom of the Netherlands and Morocco citizenship.

Being born in Netherlands normally gives a player the right to represent Netherlands too, if he holds that nationality. Representing Morocco instead usually means a parent or grandparent was born there, or that the player lived there long enough to qualify through residency. Public records do not state which connection applied to Zakaria Labyad, so we do not guess.

International career path

His international pathway, as recorded on Wikidata:

He only played youth football for Netherlands U17 and Netherlands U19. Youth caps do not tie a player to a country, so he was free to choose Morocco for senior football.

• Netherlands U17 — under-17 level, 2009 (3 matches, 0 goals)
• Netherlands U19 — under-19 level, 2010 (2 matches, 0 goals)
• Morocco U21 — under-21 level, 2011–2012 (17 matches, 7 goals)
• Morocco — senior level, 2012–2020 (6 matches, 0 goals)

The rules in brief

A player can represent a country if they hold its nationality and have a genuine link to it: birth on its territory, a parent or grandparent born there, or several years of residency. Youth matches do not tie a player to a country. Since 2020, FIFA also lets a player switch once after a small number of senior appearances (no more than three, all before turning 21, none at a World Cup or continental finals) after a three-year wait.

Read our full guide to FIFA eligibility rules →