I ALMOST agree with Roberto Mancini that a footballer – or any sportsman – should be born in a country to have the right to represent it at sport.

It can't be as hard and fast a rule as the former Manchester City manager wants as there will always be valid reasons why the odd person has a right to play a country other than the one of his birth.

But sport has gone too far the other way to the degree that people now joke that sportsmen only need to visit a country to qualify for their national team.

We all remember the Ireland football team under Jack Charlton which had lots of players who weren't Irish but had family connections.

That can't be right. Tighter rules are a must to restore some of the identity and patriotism back into international sport.