Int. Selection Criteria

When selecting any international side there are various criteria used; International rating, skill, form dots, fitness, suspensions and recent playing record.

The primary factor used to make selections is the International Rating; the highest ranked players getting selected. However, any player with fitness under 5, serving a current club suspension or with negative form dots are automatically excluded.

A player’s playing record is also taken into account. Depending on their position selected in their last club side’s fixtures. Players who start their last senior fixture are ranked above players who were selected only on the substitutes bench. While players omitted from the last club game are not eligible for selection.

If there are not enough players eligible for selection in an A team international, the selectors will ask players agentsto make one or more of their players available to fill the squad. These agent players may start the game or more likely appear on the substitutes bench.

In B team internationals, if there are not enough senior players to complete the side, then youth players can be selected using the same criteria to rank them as per senior players. A youth player can only be selected for a B international if there are no more eligible senior players available, they cannot be selected ahead of an eligible senior player.

To summarise, a senior player is considered ineligible for international selection if:

1. They were eligible for selection but did not feature in their club’s last senior fixture (either in the starting eleven or on the bench).
2. They have fitness below 5.
3. They are currently suspended at club level.
4. They have negative form dots.

 

While for B internationals a youth player will only be selected if there are not enough eligible senior players, and:

1. They were selected in the team for their club’s last youth fixture.
2. Their fitness is 5 or above.
3. They are not suspended.
4. They do not have negative form dots.