National sports team facts for kids

A national sports team is a group of athletes who represent their entire country in international sports competitions. Instead of playing for a specific club or region, they play for their nation.

You usually hear about national teams in team sports like soccer, basketball, or curling. But it can also apply to groups of individual athletes whose scores are added together for a team result. Think of sports like artistic gymnastics, archery, or figure skating.

National teams often compete at different levels and for various age groups. The rules for choosing players can vary based on the country and the sport's governing body. Sometimes, a national team might not even have all the very best players available.

Just like other sports teams, national teams are often grouped by gender, age, or other factors. The most well-known national teams are usually the senior men's and women's teams. However, these might not always be the most popular or successful ones.

Most of the time, a national sports team represents a single independent country. But there are some interesting exceptions! For example, in many sports, the British Isles has separate teams for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. But for the Olympic Games, these countries combine to form a Great Britain team. The Ireland national rugby union team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in rugby. Also, some Olympic teams represent dependent territories like Bermuda. The Iroquois Nationals (men) and Haudenosaunee Nationals (women) lacrosse teams are special because they represent a group of Indigenous people at an international level.

Why are National Teams Popular?

The popularity of a national team depends on several things.

How Popular is the Sport?

A national team's popularity is linked to how popular its sport is in that country. Sometimes, a sport is super popular and even a national sport, but its national team isn't the most famous. Also, a country's own league might be popular, but the international competitions aren't.

For example, the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team is very popular because rugby league is huge there. But the Rugby League World Cup isn't as popular in Papua New Guinea. This is partly because the country is small, and traveling to watch the team play around the world is too expensive for most people. Also, many professional players in their local league aren't from Papua New Guinea, so they can't play for the national team. This means the national team isn't always as successful internationally. People feel more connected to their local club teams, which are easier to watch.

On the other hand, sometimes the national team is more popular than its local league! For instance, handball isn't a very popular sport in Korea. But the South Korea men's national handball team is famous because they often win medals at the Olympics or World Cup events.

Who Plays the Sport?

Sometimes, a sport is more popular among certain groups of people. For example, a women's team might be more popular than a men's team if more women play that sport in the country.

How Popular is the Competition?

The biggest factor in a national team's popularity is how well-known the international competition they play in is. There's a special feeling of importance when competing on the "world stage."

Competitions with many teams from different countries are often the most popular. Big multi-sport events like the Olympic Games and Asian Games are open to many nations. Other popular single-sport events include the FIFA World Cup (soccer), Rugby World Cup (rugby union), and Cricket World Cup (cricket). For example, the Socceroos become even more popular during the FIFA World Cup just by being part of such a huge global event.

However, how fair the competition is also matters. If only a few teams always win, or if many teams aren't very strong, then the competition might not be taken seriously.

How Successful is the Team?

A national team can become popular just by being very successful, even if the sport itself isn't super popular in that country. Winning makes people excited!

Strength of Local Leagues

In many countries, the national team is the highest level of play available. Because of this, it's often the most popular team for fans.

In other countries, local club competitions might be stronger and offer better play or rewards.

How Players are Chosen

How players get chosen for a national team can depend on the sport, the country, and the time period. Sometimes, players earn their spot through individual performance, like for an Olympic athletics team. Other times, coaches chosen by the country's national sport association pick the players. In some cases, a team might have to win a national championship to get the chance to represent their country, like in the World Curling Championships.

Who Can Play?

There are different rules for who can play for which national team. These rules usually involve a player's nationality, where they were born, or where their family was born.

Soccer (FIFA Rules)

For soccer, a player usually qualifies for a national team if they are a citizen of that country and hold a passport.

If a player has one nationality that lets them play for more than one country (like in the United Kingdom where England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have separate teams), they can qualify by:

• Being born in that country.
• Having a parent or grandparent born in that country.
• Living in that country for two years continuously when they first play.

Once a player plays in an official competition for a national team (like a World Cup qualifier), they are usually "tied" to that country forever. Friendly matches don't tie a player to a country.

Players with more than one nationality have slightly different rules. Besides holding the nationality, they can qualify by:

• Being born in that country.
• Having a parent or grandparent born in that country.
• Living in that country for five years after turning 18. This rule stops countries from just naturalizing players and immediately putting them on the national team if they have no other ties.

A player who has more than one nationality can sometimes ask FIFA for a one-time change of nationality. This is only allowed if they haven't played in an official senior international match for their first country.

Basketball (FIBA Rules)

Basketball rules are similar to soccer. You must be a citizen to play for a country. Players with multiple nationalities can choose which country to play for. Once they play in an official FIBA competition, they are tied to that country. Friendly games don't count.

One unique rule in basketball is that a national team can only have one player on its roster who became a citizen after turning 16. This means teams can't just bring in many new citizens to boost their team.

Cricket (ICC Rules)

Cricket has three main ways to qualify for a national team:

• Being born in the country.
• Being a citizen (having a valid passport).
• Living in the country permanently for three years.

A player is tied to a national team once they are named to the squad for an official match (like a Test, ODI, or Twenty20 game). Playing for youth teams doesn't tie a player to a country.

Unlike many sports, cricket allows players to represent more than one country during their careers, but only two countries in a lifetime. There's usually a three-year waiting period before playing for a second country, unless moving from a smaller cricket nation to a major one.

Rugby Union (World Rugby Rules)

Rugby union rules don't even mention nationality as a requirement! Players can qualify in four ways:

• Being born in the country.
• Having a parent or grandparent born in that country (this includes adopted family members).
• Living in the country for five years before playing for the team (this rule changed in 2020).
• Living in the country for 10 years in total, regardless of other rules.

Some countries, like France, might still require their players to be citizens.

If a player has played for one national team, they usually can't play for another. However, a new rule from January 2022 allows a one-time change of nationality for players. To do this, they must:

• Not play any international rugby for 36 months.
• Have a birth connection to the new country (born there, or a parent/grandparent born there).
• Get approval from World Rugby.

A player is "captured" (tied to a country) if they play for one of these teams after turning 18:

• The country's main 15-a-side senior national team.
• The country's "next senior" 15-a-side team (like an "A" team).
• The country's senior national sevens team.

Unlike soccer or basketball, playing in international friendly matches can also "capture" a player in rugby. However, this only happens if the opponent is also one of the official national teams mentioned above. For example, a player might play for England against a club team like the Barbarians, but this wouldn't tie them to England because the Barbarians are not a national team.

Paid vs. Unpaid Players

In some national teams, players play just for the love of the sport and their country, without getting paid. In others, players are paid to represent their nation.

Sometimes, players might choose not to play for their national team if they aren't paid. This can affect how well the team performs. Also, players might have contracts with clubs, either at home or abroad. Their main loyalty might be to their club, especially if the national team competition isn't as important or prestigious.