Originally Posted by
Maxim Kouogun
Maxim Kouogun moved to Ireland when he was five months old, holds Irish citizenship, but he has yet to be deemed eligible to play football for Ireland.
Kouogun was born in Cameroon but was all of five months old when his parents moved to Ireland, initially to Celbridge and then to Leixlip. “They came here for a better life”, says Kouogun, “a better standard of life and future for myself and my siblings.”It was while at Cherry Orchard that Kouogun came to the attention of Tom Mohan, then the Irish U17s manager.
By this point Kouogun had Irish citizenship – granted when his mother was granted hers – and was selected in the squad for a double-header of European qualifiers in Armenia.
“The squad was announced on the Monday or Tuesday and we were due to travel on the Saturday”, he remembers. “Then, on Wednesday evening, Tom Mohan gave me a call to ask if I was born in Ireland. I told him ‘No, but I have my citizenship.’ He said, ‘No problem, I am going to ring you tomorrow to clarify a few things.’
“I was completely in the dark and didn’t know what was happening. The following day – I don’t mean to sound bad or anything – but I was excited and went and bought new football boots for my trip. My mum picked me up from Liffey Valley with my new boots but while I was at school she had taken a call from Tom Mohan to say I couldn’t travel because of eligibility issues.“I hadn’t a clue. I was under the impression I was Irish. I came here when I was five months old, I had my Irish citizenship as I had been in the country for so long and had gone through the schooling system. I was Irish. My mum was Irish, my siblings were Irish. Myself and my mum had Irish citizenship, my two younger siblings were born here. I was completely unaware that there would be any doubt about my eligibility.”
Mohan could play Kouogun in friendly matches – he excelled in one appearance against Latvia – but couldn’t play him in competitive matches, and thus began the long process to prove to Fifa he was eligible to play for Ireland.
“I was told by the FAI that Fifa required school transcripts, proof of attendance through all of primary school and proof of attendance through all of secondary school. I remember I had to submit a proof of address of where I was living, and I remember going into Garda station and having to request a letter from them as well.”
Meanwhile, the years ticked by. He got a scholarship to UCD, playing there while getting degrees at undergraduate and masters level. While he had opportunities at club level, nothing was moving at international level.
Having missed his chance with the U17s, Paul Doolin tried to cap him with the U19s, but that chance slipped by too. Same story when it came to Noel King with the U21s.
“I was in and out of the FAI, submitting paperwork, from school transcripts to garda letters proving my proof of address since I was in the country, school reports. Everything. And it never manifested into success.
“Anytime they came back requesting a document, I provided it, but it never seemed to manifest in success.”
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