Some of the best young talents at the World Cup this summer include Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza and Malik Tillman, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun, and Bayern Munich’s domestic-double winner Josip Stanisic. There’s also Juventus’ Kenan Yıldız and PSV’s Paul Wanner. Despite either being born in Germany or having gone through the academy system in the country, none of them will be playing for Germany on the world’s biggest stage this summer.

They all hold dual citizenship and have opted to take the field for Turkey, Algeria, the USA, Croatia or Austria. Whether for sporting, emotional, or family reasons, or because they hoped doing so would give their own careers a boost, their choice is also a conscious choice against Germany. This development has shaken German FA (DFB) Director Andreas Rettig.

Are Germany’s best young players opting to play elsewhere?

Most of the aforementioned footballers are regular starters at their clubs, and some of them are among the best players in their respective positions. Given, as Rettig notes, that youth international players spend between 50 and 70 days a year under the care of the DFB, all of them could have played a pivotal role in the Germany team.

“More than 40% of children under the age of five in Germany have a migrant background. This gives them the option of choosing one country over another,” Rettig told DW.

This figure, he fears, is bound to lead to a rising number of potential international players willing to switch allegiances.

“We must address this issue seriously to ensure that we don’t end up in a situation where many of those players who trained here go on to seek their fortune elsewhere,” said Rettig.

‘Trending in the wrong direction’

Last year, Rettig unveiled his vision of a “training compensation” scheme intended to change the current situation.

“Training must pay off—both for the person being trained and for the trainer,” the 63-year-old insisted. “I would like to see us develop a system in which training is rewarded, and where we can then reinvest that training compensation back into grassroots development.”

The idea behind this is simple. Training costs per player per day would be calculated precisely, leading to a compensation claim. This would be communicated transparently to all parties involved, with the aim of raising the barrier against countries poaching players from other nations.

Rettig emphasized that his objective is not merely to secure financial compensation for the DFB, but rather to benefit to the entire football world.

“We need to raise awareness that every association needs to invest in training,” said the DFB director, who noted that some national associations “invest more money, time, and effort into scouting players than they do into training them themselves.”

Rettig believes this is a move in the wrong direction, and hopes that a transparent training compensation system as he is proposing would curb this behavior and lead to increased investment in domestic youth development.

‘The eagle on the chest is no more important than the crescent moon’

High-profile cases, such as Maza, who had 13 caps for German youth teams but opted to represent Algeria, or US international Tillman (21 youth caps for Germany), or Özcan, who was capped an incredible 61 times for Germany in his youth but will be heading to the World Cup with Turkey, have sparked considerable debate within the DFB. Nevertheless, Rettig emphasized that he respects every decision, provided it was not made in haste.

“We are not saying that the eagle on the chest is more important than the crescent moon or any other national symbol,” Rettig explained. “I simply wish to make an urgent appeal, such a decision [switching national allegiances] must not be based solely on the question: ‘Where can I get playing time sooner?'”

Instead, he believes it is crucial to offer players a credible long-term outlook.

“I do not believe we would be well-advised to offer pipe dreams to young players too early on,” said Rettig.

After all, a player’s development path is rarely linear, and not every player will appear in a Champions League or World Cup final by the age of 17. For this reason, Rettig would like to see more patience from players when considering a switch of nationalities.

Decision needs to come from the heart

“Playing for one’s country is the greatest achievement a player can aspire to,” Rettig said.

“It should be a decision from the heart—one made in favor of the country with which one feels the deepest connection.”

The DFB’s ultimate goal is to get to a point at which young players coming through its system never even entertain the idea of ​​switching national associations in the first place.

“We need to solidify this emotional bond—to redouble our efforts across all age groups,” Rettig told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.

Next stop: FIFA

For Rettig’s plan or anything similar to take effect, FIFA would have to impose new rules on a global level. The DFB’s next move will be to formally submit its proposal to football’s international governing body. Although it’s still not clear when this could happen, Rettig is optimistic that his idea will get a fair hearing. After all, Germany is by no means the only country affected by “nation-hopping.”

“Surely, even FIFA has no interest in seeing the sense of identification with—and the overall value of—its own competitions eroded by an increasing number of nationality switches,” he said.

This article was adapted from German.