Noe Baba

[DannyInvincible]

No, it's not as simple as that. I just think the rumour makes a rather lazy association; along the lines of "Baba is a big west African and looks excessively-developed for his age, and we all know about those west Africans when it comes to corruption/dodgy dealings/dodgy birth certificates..." or a similar sort of thinking. That's just my suspicion and why I perceive it may be a case of casual racism.

Would a British-born player who appears to an eye otherwise ignorant of the facts to be "too big for his age" be subjected to the same allegation? I doubt it.

[osarusan]

No, it's not as simple as that. I just think the rumour makes a rather lazy association; along the lines of "Baba is a big west African and looks excessively-developed for his age, and we all know about those west Africans when it comes to corruption/dodgy dealings/dodgy birth certificates..." or a similar sort of thinking. That's just my suspicion and why I perceive it may be a case of casual racism.

Would a British-born player who appears to an eye otherwise ignorant of the facts to be "too big for his age" be subjected to the same allegation? I doubt it.

There's no evidence from the quote from Reddit that the poster knew anything about corruption/dodgy dealings/birth certificates, is there?

If a British-born player (or, for that matter, a white player from anywhere with a record of dodgy birth certs and corruption) was subjected to the same allegation, what predjudice would you suspect the poster of holding?

[DannyInvincible]

There's no evidence from the quote from Reddit that the poster knew anything about corruption/dodgy dealings/birth certificates, is there?

The poster did state Baba's "birth cert is dodgy as ****". Where would he get an idea like that, considering there's absolutely no evidence to suggest there is an issue with Baba's birth certificate? Possibly from a prejudiced opinion of descendants of west Africa? Maybe not, but it just looks like lazy speculation tinged with a very casual form of racism to me, primarily based on the reputation of west African administrative bodies.


If a British-born player (or, for that matter, a white player from anywhere with a record of dodgy birth certs and corruption) was subjected to the same allegation, what predjudice would you suspect the poster of holding?

I'm sure I'd find something! :p

In seriousness though, it's not likely a British-born player would be subjected to the same allegation, is it? Such a scenario is unlikely to ever arise as such prejudice would be extremely rare, if not non-existent, in the first place.

With regard to a white player from anywhere with a record of dodgy birth certificates and corruption, I may well suspect prejudice (of a xenophobic nature) if the defamatory accusation was plucked out of the poster's arse because his friends thought the player concerned looked "big for his age".

Just going along with the allegation for the sake of argument, I'm not sure when or how the birth certificate of Baba would have been falsified, but then I'm not in the know. If the birth certificate was indeed falsified, would it not have been long before the prospect of Baba becoming a professional footballer ever looked likely; say, before Baba's family even migrated in Ireland and Baba acquired Irish citizenship? What would have been the motive of his parents in procuring forged documents then? Are the FAI suspicious? Have they performed tests? What about the Irish government that issued Baba his citizenship? Were there doubts there? It's more likely that Baba's development/growth spurt is simply down to genetics, no?

[osarusan]

It's more likely that Baba's development/growth spurt is simply down to genetics, no?
Of course it is.


The poster did state Baba's "birth cert is dodgy as ****". Where would he get an idea like that, considering there's absolutely no evidence to suggest there is an issue with Baba's birth certificate? Possibly from a prejudiced opinion of descendants of west Africa? Maybe not, but it just looks like lazy speculation tinged with a very casual form of racism to me, primarily based on the reputation of west African administrative bodies.


Maybe the Reddit poster's friends are bitter at having been beaten by his team and are talking sh!t, or maybe they simply think Baba is just too big for his age, therefore his birthcert is dodgy.

[DannyInvincible]

Maybe, we can only speculate. :)

[paul_oshea]

He who speculates....

[Closed Account]

Let's be clear about this, Baba is no manchild. I'm 5'11'' and he's shorter than me. I watched him play for the Ireland U17s last year and he looked quite short for a center half out there.
He's succeeded because he's a natural footballer. His father I believe was very good also.

Here's a picture of him at 14 with similiar ages lads.
http://www.fais.ie/fs/img/Castlebar%20Squad.JPG

[paul_oshea]

Here's a picture of him at 14 with similiar ages lads.
http://www.fais.ie/fs/img/Castlebar%20Squad.JPG

Which one is he?

I see McShanes younger brother is on the right there, are we like the scots and have to pick the token Celtic Ging-er

[SkStu]

He who speculates....

...is rich like POSH... :D


Here's a picture of him at 14 with similiar ages lads.
http://www.fais.ie/fs/img/Castlebar%20Squad.JPG

he looks at least 15.

[BonnieShels]

Having never heard his name pronounced out loud is it "No" or "No-eh"?

[SkStu]

No-ay, i believe...

[Charlie Darwin]

Like Noah I think.

[DannyInvincible]

Here's a picture of him at 14 with similiar ages lads.
http://www.fais.ie/fs/img/Castlebar%20Squad.JPG

Already bald by 14?! No way he's that age.

[paul_oshea]

Racist.

[Irish_Praha]

Let's be clear about this, Baba is no manchild. I'm 5'11'' and he's shorter than me. I watched him play for the Ireland U17s last year and he looked quite short for a center half out there.
He's succeeded because he's a natural footballer. His father I believe was very good also.

Here's a picture of him at 14 with similiar ages lads.
http://www.fais.ie/fs/img/Castlebar%20Squad.JPG

Strange there were no protests about the guy in the back row at the far right; he looks at least 17

[IsMiseSean]

Some of them lads look under 10 nevermind 14...

[Crosby87]

which one is he?

[tricky_colour]

It's great they made the shortest player the goal keeper.
No heightism there.

[swinfordfc]

Is Noe still out injured with his ankle?

[paul_oshea]

which one is he?

Why thank Crosby I said this ages ago, he just copied me.

And it was very funny when i said it, i should have got loads of thanks, people on here have a very poor sense of humour.

[tetsujin1979]

Why thank Crosby I said this ages ago, he just copied me.

And it was very funny when i said it, i should have got loads of thanks, people on here have a very poor sense of humour.
that's certainly one interpretation of the events as they transpired.

[Junior]

Why thank Crosby I said this ages ago, he just copied me.

And it was very funny when i said it, i should have got loads of thanks, people on here have a very poor sense of humour.

I thought of that gag when the picture was posted and thought it was a cracker, then scrolled down and seen that you had posted it and I immediately downgraded said gag to ignorant racism.

[paul_oshea]

that's certainly one interpretation of the events as they transpired.

Yes, its the only one, remember I met many posters on here :D

Ah junior touche. You loved it really.

[BonnieShels]

I thought of that gag when the picture was posted and thought it was a cracker, then scrolled down and seen that you had posted it and I immediately downgraded said gag to ignorant racism.

Now that's humour Paul.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Noe's brother, Thierry, has been called up to the U-15 team.

[Charlie Darwin]

We don't take kindly to Thierrys around here.

[paul_oshea]

Thierrys or theory's.

[paul_oshea]

I just had another look at that photo from yonder.when did Rupert grint play underage for us?

[DannyInvincible]

Geysir is correct. I think we talked about this during the last World Cup, I think concerning Gelsen Fernandes or Johan Djourou who moved to Switzerland as a child and represented their sides despite having no family connection to the country. The rules specifically concern people who change nationalities after either a) turning 18 or b) representing another national team. A child who is granted citizenship is not required to meet residency criteria.

I have learned that the understanding that article 7 does not apply to minors is, in fact, completely erroneous. Article 7 applies to all players (who have assumed a new nationality), both minors and adults and irrespective of whether or not they've assumed their new non-birth nationality before they became footballers. I will post some more on this with a thorough explanation, including FIFA confirmation, in the eligibility thread when I can.

Just on Djourou and Fernandes, however; Djourou was adopted by his Swiss mother-in-law so he qualified under article 7(b), whilst Fernandes was first competitively selected to represent the Swiss association in 2006 when the previous regulations requiring only a two-year period of residence (with no reference to the age of the player) were in force. Although this rule was changed in 2009 and the five-year stipulation of the present article 7(d) was introduced, Fernandes and any other players who had already gained their eligibility according to the former rule obviously remained eligible to play by virtue of the principle of acquired rights.

[Irwin3]

I have learned that the understanding that article 7 does not apply to minors is, in fact, completely erroneous. Article 7 applies to all players (who have assumed a new nationality), both minors and adults and irrespective of whether or not they've assumed their new non-birth nationality before they became footballers. I will post some more on this with a thorough explanation, including FIFA confirmation, in the eligibility thread when I can.

Just on Djourou and Fernandes, however; Djourou was adopted by his Swiss mother-in-law so he qualified under article 7(b), whilst Fernandes was first competitively selected to represent the Swiss association in 2006 when the previous regulations requiring only a two-year period of residence (with no reference to the age of the player) were in force. Although this rule was changed in 2009 and the five-year stipulation of the present article 7(d) was introduced, Fernandes and any other players who had already gained their eligibility according to the former rule obviously remained eligible to play by virtue of the principle of acquired rights.

The anticipation is killing me!

[nigel-harps1954]

Is Baba making much inroads at Fulham this season? They've been using a lot of youth players on and off by the look of things. Any idea whether he's been around the first team squad yet?

[Charlie Darwin]

No, he's only on the fringes of the 21s.

[DannyInvincible]

The anticipation is killing me!

Sorry to have you on tenterhooks! I have a few posts of compiled information and comments from various e-mail correspondences with my source over the past few days ready to fire. I have just sent what I want to post here back to him for his approval as I promised I wouldn't publish anything until I had a complete and harmonious understanding of everything we've discussed and without him first giving the green light. He's a Swiss sports lawyer and is presently completing a PhD on international eligiblity in football/sport. He has written and spoken extensively on the FIFA eligibility regulations and once worked as an intern with the CAS. He has been exceptionally obliging so far though in answering my queries and volunteering his knowledge, so I don't foresee any major issues. Hopefully not anyway. He's to get back to me as soon as possible. If he doesn't permit me to post some of his own comments/opinions for whatever reason (maybe he'd rather reserve publication of some of the findings of his research for his PhD; that's my only worry, but we'll see), I'll amend what I've written and include only info already in the public domain or with whatever he's happy.

My understanding of the regulations has been turned on its head in many ways though, so plenty of new and interesting stuff to come.

[geysir]

The point we had been discussing here in this thread was that minors who move as part of their family to a new country, do not have to complete 5 years of residency after they reach the age of 18, in order to be eligible to play for that new country.

The rule states that "He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the ageof 18 on the territory of the relevant Association "
There are countless players who have moved to a new country when they were children and minors and have been eligible to play underage competively for their new country.
Though there are transfer restrictions for minors who move to a new country for football reasons, even if they move there with their family.

[Stuttgart88]

What happened the young left back who started a few games under Magath earlier in the season, and scored a good goal? I've forgotten his name and before Tets gets all upset that I don't refer to Irish Abroad, I'm in an aeroplane and shouldn't even have my phone on!

[Crosby87]

I thought you were on the no fly list?

[Yard of Pace]

What happened the young left back who started a few games under Magath earlier in the season, and scored a good goal? I've forgotten his name and before Tets gets all upset that I don't refer to Irish Abroad, I'm in an aeroplane and shouldn't even have my phone on!

Sean Kavanagh. Seems to have been left out since Magath and his magic cheese got the boot.

[Charlie Darwin]

Sean Kavanagh. Seems to have been left out since Magath and his magic cheese got the boot.
No, he's been struggling with injury. He has featured in a few games and been given a three-year contract since Magath left.

[DannyInvincible]

The point we had been discussing here in this thread was that minors who move as part of their family to a new country, do not have to complete 5 years of residency after they reach the age of 18, in order to be eligible to play for that new country.

The rule states that "He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the ageof 18 on the territory of the relevant Association "
There are countless players who have moved to a new country when they were children and minors and have been eligible to play underage competively for their new country.
Though there are transfer restrictions for minors who move to a new country for football reasons, even if they move there with their family.

As a matter of principle, article 7 applies to both minors and adults. Naturalised minors have been able to play for their new countries on the basis of extra-legal exemptions granted to them by the Players' Status Committee, but this shouldn't ordinarily be the case, as has been confirmed by the FIFA Congress. I've elaborated on this further here: http://foot.ie/threads/147164-Eligibility-Rules-Okay?p=1805271&viewfull=1#post1805271

[tetsujin1979]

if there are no objections, I'm going to move the relevant posts to the eligibility rules thread on Sunday night.

[Crosby87]

Adam, I object. Then again, I warned you not to eat that apple.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/rodallega-among-nine-released-by-fulham

Released.

[Closed Account]

http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/rodallega-among-nine-released-by-fulham

Released.
Turns 19 in a couple of months, hopefully gets picked up by a championship club at least.

[Charlie Darwin]

Not the end of the world at his age. Keep plugging away and see what transpires.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

With Birmingham now.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/birmingham-city-u21s-2-leicester-9654920

[Stuttgart88]

That's a decent outcome

[samhaydenjr]

Has he signed a deal at Birmingham, or is he just a trialist as yet?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Has signed for Birmingham on a permanent basis after a successful trial.

[tetsujin1979]

offered a one year deal at Birmingham: http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/emmanuel-mbende-connal-trueman-noe-baba-3082478.aspx

Baba, who is 19, is a more recently arrival at Blues, having joined the Club last August after leaving Fulham, where he was a regular starter for their Under-18s and Under-21s sides.

He was originally signed as a defender, but has subsequently gone on to play for Blues in a holding midfield role and has made 32 appearances for Richard Beale's Under-21s.

Although he was born in Cameroon, Baba moved to the Republic of Ireland at a young age and has represented the Republic at youth level up to the Under-20s age group.

[liamoo11]

Released by Birmingham. Hopefully gets sorted with a club. When he captained our 17s he also started for our 19s the same season fantastic achievement. Seems very religious which must help him with set backs Like this