Talk:Gedion Zelalem

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Youth career
The statement that he played for Olney Rangers at Walter Johnson is incorrect. Olney Rangers is a club team, Walter Johnson is a school. He played for the school team separately from the club team. I can't fix it because the article is protected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.227.241.38 (talk) 17:56, 28 January 2014 (UTC)


 * I made a correction according to the sources and I hope it is correct now. Just let me know if I should change more or if something else is incorrect. Thank you! QED 237   (talk)  00:17, 29 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Yes, that seems more accurate. Thanks. 204.227.241.38 (talk) 17:55, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

Some notes on his citizenship
(1) He is Ethiopian by birth because both of his parents were Ethiopian (jus sanguinis); cf. the Ethiopian constitution 6.1: "Any person with one or both parents of Ethiopian citizenship is an Ethiopian. Particulars shall be determined by law." Cf. Ethiopian nationality law 1.1: "Any person born in Ethiopia or abroad, whose father or mother is Ethiopian, is an Ethiopian subject."

(2a) He is German not by jus soli, but only by provisional naturalization, because he was born in Germany before 1 Jan 2000, i.e. he applied for and received German citizenship, being eligible because on 1 Jan 2000 he was a permanent resident and wasn't yet 10 years of age; cf. German national law 40b.

(2b) The naturalization is provisional, because between the age of 18 and 23 Zelalem must decide whether he wants to renounce his Ethiopian citizenship and keep his German citizenship, or whether he wants to be an Ethiopian; in the latter case he would automatically lose German citizenship, at the latest at age 23; cf. German Nationality Law 29.

(2c) If he loses his German citizenship, he could always re-apply under the fast-track naturalization option for top athletes; cf. German discretionary naturalization.

(3a) When he comes of age he can become a US citizen only by naturalization, as long as he meets the legal requirements, which is impossible for a professional footballer playing in Europe; cf. US nationality law, eligibility.

(3b) I don't know of any fast-track program for US naturalization, which exists in other countries, e.g. in Germany (see above).

(3c) He could immediately become a US citizen by co-naturalization as a minor, when at least one of his parents becomes a US citizen. If his parents are eligible, i.e. if they meet the requirements, e.g. permanent residency in the US for several years, then it would be very easy for Zelalem to naturalize, as long as he is under the age of 18.

Conclusion: At the moment he is an Ethiopian subject and citizen, and a provisional German citizen. (He is a U.S citizen as of April 11, 2024(

-- 92.225.128.169 (talk) 15:28, 26 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Okay, I see your point but the thing is on wikipedia we always you the national team he most recently played for. So in the lead he is german footballer because he plays for Germany. The citizenship can be mentioned in the personal section later on but not in the lead. If you dont agree I suggest you take it up at WT:FOOTY.  QED 237   (talk)  16:44, 26 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Ah, I understand. Didn't know about that rule. Thanks for clarifying. -- 92.225.128.169 (talk) 17:15, 26 March 2014 (UTC)


 * No problem, you are not the first person with these concerns as there are many footballers today with citizenship in more then one country. QED 237   (talk)  20:45, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

American citizenship

 * American as of today, apparently 70.150.71.66 (talk) 17:22, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Not a reliable source. It's quoting a Washington Post blog, which is clearly just a speculative blog post based on some conjecture by an unnamed "Insider". Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 17:36, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm more than happy to wait, which is why I didn't update the page, just google the kid's name and see the results... head of US Soccer tweeted confirmation of it as well. 50.180.140.198 (talk) 19:05, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I did. Almost every single source that talks about his switch is citing the Washington Post blog as its source. Whilst the tweet is worthy of consideration, the blog itself admits that FIFA haven't ratified it yet, and as such, he still isn't eligible to play for the US as of right now. Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 19:13, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I just can't stand to see a bullet point hanging out by itself. Again, official page not changed, just posted the comment for people to be aware when whatever source (not FIFA o.O) that wiki deems official, confirms it. 50.180.140.198 (talk) 19:29, 30 December 2014 (UTC)

Luke no 94 — Your recent editing actions are at odds with a number of reliable sources. Judging by your comments, I'm guessing you don't regularly read soccer articles from American media. Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated and Steven Goff of the Washington Post are two of the top soccer reporters in the U.S.; you shouldn't be deleting accurate content supported by high-quality sources such as SI and the Post. Furthermore, there is an this article on MLSsoccer.com and a statement from the head of U.S. Soccer discussing Zelalem's new American citizenship. I'm glad you are removing inaccurate material (he's not eligible to play for the U.S. yet), but in your desire to keep the page in its current state, you are improperly deleting accurate material backed by solid sources. I think you ought to consider taking a short break here; it seems that you might have become perhaps a bit too entrenched in your position, and in shows in your edit warring actions. Barryjjoyce (talk) 04:40, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm guessing you haven't actually read the source in question, Barry. The Washington Post blog, which the SI.com source and almost every single other story cites as its sole source, is not remotely reliable; it's based on some conjecture by an unnamed "insider", and references random passers-by for further "evidence". Other editors whom actually read it came to the same conclusion as me. Even the MLS Soccer article you just referenced is using that exact same conjecture as its main source, whilst citing the tweet as a secondary source. He's not eligible to play for the US yet, which means that he should not be considered "German-American" or "German-born American" either in the lead; his most recent international football was with Germany. If you read this piece by The Guardian from yesterday, you'll see that they're very careful not to state that he is an American citizen, or that he has committed to their international team. Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 12:46, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Luke no 94 — There is one thing we agree on: Zelalem is not eligible to play for the US yet. I've already said that above. To be clear, I am not going to add anything to the article suggesting he is, and I support your attempts to correct that in the article. The rest of your statements, however, are pretty far wide of the mark. Your principal hangup seems to be that the Dec 29 article written by Steven Goff (who has 20+ years of experience covering soccer) for the Washington Post (one of the most respected publications in the US) is not a reliable source — that's an untenable position. You ought to read WP:NEWSBLOG. Your guess that I hadn't read the article is just silly. The "Insider" you keep mentioning disparagingly refers to the "Soccer Insider," which is the name of Goff's column and is also Goff's nickname — this is widely known by people who follow the Washington Post's coverage of soccer, which is why your misplaced focus on the word "Insider" was a dead giveaway that you are not familiar with this source.  Furthermore, Goff followed up by publishing this article the following day, which includes quotes from Goff's interview with Zelalem's father. Your criticism of the article by Grant Wahl, another highly-respected US soccer journalist, is puzzling, as is your dismissal of the MLSsoccer.com article. You ought to read WP:VNT. As to the Guardian, the two articles they have published on Zelalem in the past few days are titled "Arsenal's Gedion Zelalem takes step towards committing to USA" and "Gedion Zelalem could transform USMNT," so I'm not sure what your hangup is here. The bottom line here is that we have discovered at least four reliable sources saying Zelalem has recently become a US citizen. Are you aware of any reliable sources saying that he has not recently become a US citizen?
 * Here's what I propose — I'll edit the article to add content that is accurate and backed by reliable sources; I won't add anything that is inaccurate, unsourced, or speculative. You can take a look at the edits and we can then discuss further. I think that may be more productive than arguing in the abstract, but I don't want to take actions that will merely result in a continuation of the edit war. Barryjjoyce (talk) 15:50, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Except the Washington Post source stating "Zelalem is now an American citizen" is not reliable. Go ahead and read it - "was in Washington on Monday to finalize the naturalization process, clearing the way to represent the United States in international competition, the Insider has learned." That is not reliable whatsoever; it's speculation and expecting us to go on an unnamed source (which I was referring to pretty much exactly as the article did - any disparagement is what you wanted to see present). Even if, as you state, this is what Goff is called, it is still unreliable as Goff doesn't cite his own sources, and the blog post further relies on commentary such as "Zelalem visited the Passport Agency on 19th Street Northwest, three blocks from the White House, and was recognized by at least two bystanders." We don't take "Sky Sports have learned", or "Sky sources indicate" to be a reliable source for a player transfer, do we? Not at all, and this is exactly that. Every other newspaper that ran based on that story used the caveat "according to the Washington Post", or something similar. Quite why you think that speculation about how he could benefit the US national team is supposed to be further confirmation is beyond me; a similar thing happened when Carlo Cudicini was rumoured to be becoming a British citizen and playing for England. The only reliable source that actually seems to fully back it up is that second Washington Post blog you cite there, which had not been linked to at any point previously, nor had it come up in a search when I looked for sources. Even that I'm hesitant about, more sorts of things like "Those close to him" for other bits and pieces, but at least that directly attributes the claim to Zelalem's father.  Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 16:16, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
 * As for updating the article, fine, as long as you use the second Washington Post blog which actually cites its sources correctly for him being a US citizen, then there's no issue. As I'm pretty sure we both agree on the fact he is not eligible to play for the US yet, and that he still counts as being German in the lead (see the above discussion for exactly why if you're confused/anyone reading this is confused), then those bits stay as they are until things change. Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 16:29, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Luke no 94 (tell Luke off here) — I am glad we have identified some limited areas of agreement. I will perform some limited edits then, and we can talk further. I still think you are taking an unnecessarily strict interpretation of verifiability. I am not aware of any wiki policy requiring that published reliable sources must be backed in turn by reliable sources that are explicit in the published article. According to WP:RS and Verifiability, the publication is determined to be reliable if the published material is the product of a "reliable publication process," and reputable publications such as the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated clearly meet that standard. I am hopeful we can resolve this amicably. To that end, if you think my future edits are questionable, please use the talk page and try to refrain from reverting. Your edits here, here, and here demonstrate a pattern of reverting edits that contained accurate, sourced information, which some editors could view as potentially violating WP:3RR. Barryjjoyce (talk) 17:43, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
 * If something says "X has learned", or "I have learned" without saying where from, then it is essentially speculation and it is not reliable. Again, it's exactly the same as Sky Sports saying "Sky sources indicate that a deal for Player Y to sign for Club Z has been struck", which we would never use as a source for stating that the player had definitely transferred. Reliable sources still post speculative articles. Also I most certainly did not violate 3RR in the strict sense; one edit I reverted was a completely unsourced entry into a BLP, which is 3RR exempt and is the only reason why I reverted at that point. Luke no 94  (tell Luke off here) 18:01, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Motions to indicate Zelalem is American are correct (as of now). He's an eligible American footballer who has been granted his "one-time switch" by FIFA and has already debuted for the American U-20 team and is a part of the USA U20 World Cup squad. As a result, his Wikipedia bio should reflect his international affiliation as American. Anaychi (talk) 18:31, 20 May 2015 (UTC) Anaychi

External links modified
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