There are a number of football clubs around the world that are based in one country/territory but play in another's football league. Conditions for competing in a "foreign" league, as well as in a continental/confederational competition, are set case-by-case by FIFA as well as the respective confederation and national football associations involved.
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As a result of the history of football in the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom has four FIFA member countries instead of one. Clubs that play outside what would be regarded as their 'home country' include:
Although all the above clubs play in the English football league system and are allowed to compete in the FA Cup, they are under the jurisdiction of the FA of Wales.
Cardiff City (1921–29, 1952–57 and 1960–62) and Swansea City (1981–83) have played in the old Football League First Division, the top division of English football at that time. Cardiff City are also the only non-English side to have won the FA Cup, winning it in 1927; they again reached the final in 2008, prompting the English FA to change the rules to allow Welsh clubs to represent England in UEFA competitions should they qualify to do so.[1]
The following Welsh clubs also played in the English football league system before the launch of the League of Wales, now the Welsh Premier League:
The following defunct Welsh clubs also played in the English league system:
Until 1995, the above clubs were allowed to participate in the Welsh Cup, and represented Wales in the Cup Winners' Cup if they won. Clubs playing in those parts of England close to the Welsh border could also play in the Welsh Cup, but could not represent Wales even if they won.
→ : Northern Irish in the Republic of Ireland
Derry City have won the league titles of both Northern Ireland (1964–65) and the Republic of Ireland (1988–89, 1996–97), and also the cup titles of both Northern Ireland (1948–49, 1953–54, 1963–64) and the Republic of Ireland (1988–89, 1994–95, 2002, 2006), and have represented both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in European club competitions.
→ : German in Switzerland
→ : Italian in Switzerland
→ : Liechtensteiner in Switzerland
All clubs in Liechtenstein play in the Swiss football league system, as Liechtenstein has no properly recognized league of its own. These clubs also compete in the Liechtenstein Football Cup, which is effectively the championship of Liechtenstein, with the winner representing Liechtenstein in the UEFA Europa League. Liechtenstein clubs do not play in the Swiss Cup, and are not eligible for qualification to European competitions via the Swiss league system.
→ : Monegasque in France
→ : Sammarinese in Italy
From 1967 to 1974, the champion of the Cypriot First Division was promoted to the Greek First Division.
As many North American sports leagues are made up of teams from different countries—three of the four largest professional leagues in Anglophone North America have teams representing cities on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border—this phenomenon can also be seen in soccer leagues. Although foreign clubs can and do participate in leagues based in the United States, no such team is eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup, which is only open to teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. They are also not eligible to represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions League.
→ : Antiguan in the United States
→ : Bermudian in the United States
→ : Canadian in the United States
The four professional clubs from Canada (Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and - starting in 2011 - FC Edmonton) contest the Canadian Championship for the Voyageurs Cup to determine Canada's entrant into the CONCACAF Champions League.
→ : Puerto Rican in the United States
→ : Mainland Chinese in Hong Kong
→ : Singaporean in Malaysia
Besides DPMM FC, a number of "foreign" teams have also played in the S.League. These clubs, while playing their home games in Singapore, are either satellite teams of foreign clubs or are made up exclusively of foreign players:
As of 2011, only Albirex Niigata Singapore FC and Etoile FC play in the S.League. The foreign teams are not allowed to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions such as the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup. Moreover, due to the presence of foreign teams in the S.League, the AFC does not allow S.League teams to participate in the AFC Champions League since 2011.[3]
In recent years, foreign clubs from other countries have also been invited to participate in the Singapore Cup.
→ : New Zealander in Australia
As New Zealand is a member of OFC and Australia is a member of AFC since moving from OFC in 2006, Wellington Phoenix are playing in the league of a member of another football confederation. As per agreement with FIFA, AFC and OFC, Wellington Phoenix are not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League.[4] They also do not participate in the OFC Champions League, as New Zealand is represented by clubs from its football league, the New Zealand Football Championship.
Note that it is not uncommon for New Zealand teams to play in Australian professional sports leagues—the National Rugby League (rugby league) and National Basketball League both have one team from New Zealand, and the Women's National Basketball League had a New Zealand team in the 2007–08 season. This phenomenon is most pronounced in rugby union, in which the Super Rugby competition, a joint enterprise between the governing bodies of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, has five teams from each of the three countries as of the current 2011 season, with plans to add a sixth South African team in 2013.