Bristol City have inadvertently ruined Nikita Haikin’s dream of going to the World Cup, thanks to a decision from FIFA.
Nettavisen Sport report that the goalkeeper is being left out of Norway’s squad for the tournament.
FIFA issues
Relaying information from TV 2, Norway’s national team management has concluded that it would not be right to include Nikita Haikin in the squad, regardless of whether he is approved as a Norwegian national team player by FIFA.
Norway manager Ståle Solbakken has previously stated that the Bodø/Glimt goalkeeper will be eligible for a place in Norway’s World Cup squad.
In April, it was announced that the goalkeeper has been granted Norwegian citizenship. But a report last week revealed that FIFA had not approved his citizenship change. At the moment, the goalkeeper is not eligible to play for Norway.
The Norwegian Football Federation are in talks with FIFA about the situation. But they latter are so far insisting that the 30-year-old does not meet the requirements regarding length of stay in the country.
Bristol City move the issue?
That is where Bristol City come into the mix. Nikita Haikin’s short stint with the Robins in 2023 would be the problem. He spent two months with the Championships side after four years at Bodo/Glimt. He then returned to the Norwegian club in March.
That short stay broke up his time in Norway and means he doesn’t have the continuous length of stay he needs. Although neither the NFF nor FIFA have confirmed that is the case at this moment in time, the Norwegian media have worked it out.
FIFA’s statutes state that one must have live in the country for at least five years to be granted a change of nation. The counter is reset if a player is transferred to a club affiliated with another federation. That would be the case with his short stint at Bristol City.
The player himself stated last weekend that he still had hope for a solution to the issue.
“I know that this is not finished,” he said.
“It is a process. I hope we can find a way and that it goes through. But I will get new information.”
