ANGOLA coach Jose Claros Canals called on Fiba to discontinue the naturalization rules as he believes it hinders the development of local talent.
Canals made his remark after Angola lost to the Dominican Republic, 75-67, on Tuesday to drop to the classification phase of the Fiba Basketball World Cup.
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Fiba allows countries to have one naturalized citizen on the national team, which the Spanish coach is against. Fiba also classifies players as locals if they were able to secure a passport of the country before the age of 16.
Canals admitted that bringing in a naturalized player for Angola would definitely improve its chances of moving past the first round, but said they still believe in being all-local.
“We didn’t naturalize any player. We don’t sign any import. Obviously, we sign a shooter, it could be easier. Maybe we are one of the only countries that don’t have anybody (outside) Angola. We are betting from Angolan players,” said Canals during the postgame press conference after losing to Dominican Republic.
“I don’t believe this is correct. I really think that Fiba must stop this as soon as possible,” said Canals.
Canals rued that there might come a time that local players won’t improve due to the influx of naturalized players.
“Otherwise, in some years, they will be no local product. We need to develop each country and develop their own players. There are players, they don’t speak the language that the country that they represent. There are countries with seven, eight players that are born outside their country,” said Canals.
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