A combination of processes, time, and requirements is necessary to obtain Ecuadorian nationality for any foreign citizen, which in the case of national soccer adds other elements such as being necessary to sign or extend their contracts, mutual help for clubs and players.
For LigaPro 2021, 14 naturalized players have been confirmed for 16 Serie A clubs, to which three more would be added in the following days.
Universidad Católica and Barcelona are the teams with the most naturalized players, four and three, respectively, including key players like goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez and Facundo Martínez, figures in the return of the team to international competitions, first to Copa Sudamericana, and this year to the Copa Libertadores, after 41 years.
In the Toreros squad, Damián Díaz, Matías Oyola, and Gabriel Marques stand out, key players in the 2016 and 2020 titles.
There are naturalized players for eight clubs, some more relevant than others. Argentinians predominate, with 10 players. There are also players from Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Adding naturalized players to the squads, which already have room for six foreigners, reduces opportunities for local players, according to coach Otto Morcillo.
"As long as there are six foreigners and naturalized players keep coming, it is difficult for national players to appear, especially young ones," said the former youth national team coach.
Toreros and their 'foreigners'
When adding naturalized and foreign players, Barcelona is the team with the most players born outside Ecuador, a total of ten elements.
This year, the Toreros presented the Argentinians Sergio López and Michael Hoyos, as well as the Uruguayan Gonzalo Mastriani, who join the Paraguayan William Riveros, Bruno Piñatares from Uruguay, and Javier Burrai and Emmanuel Martínez from Argentina.
The naturalized players are distributed among Deportivo Cuenca, Emelec, Independiente del Valle, Macará, and Orense with one player each, and Aucas with two.
But the number of naturalized players could rise to 17. Barcelona is waiting for decrees for Sergio López and Michael Hoyos. Cuenca is waiting for Diego Dorregaray.
"López and Hoyos will play as Ecuadorians in Barcelona in 2021," said Barcelona president Carlos Alfaro Moreno during the presentation of the players.
With these options pending, Dorregaray adds another possibility. He stated that he already has everything ready for his naturalization and is just waiting for the OK to start preseason with Cuenca.
In total, the number of "foreign reinforcements" in LigaPro would rise to 96 players, with 113 naturalized players. While several of them can contribute to their respective clubs, the problem for coach Morcillo is that foreign players "stay" in the league "until they obtain their naturalization. They don't contribute, they take up space and that doesn't help the country's youth divisions."
Data
Naturalized players
As of now, LigaPro has 14 players who will play as naturalized for this season: Damián Frascarelli and Luis Escalada (Aucas); Damián Díaz, Matías Oyola, and Gabriel Marques (Barcelona); Jerónimo Costa (Cuenca); Lucas Sosa (Emelec); Richard Schunke (Independiente del Valle); Matías Duffard (Macará); Luis Espínola (Orense); Hernán Galíndez, Facundo Martínez, Juan Manuel Tévez (photo), and Davinson Jama (Católica). This number could increase with decrees for Sergio López and Michael Hoyos (Barcelona), and Diego Dorregaray (Cuenca).
Modality
Granting Ecuadorian nationality for "relevant services to the country with their talent or individual effort" and for "their significant contribution to the country in the football field" have been constant guidelines for foreign players to obtain their naturalization through a decree. This is a concession as a sovereign and discretionary act of the Executive Function, which depending on the cases has taken several years of personal procedures or faster processes with the support of the clubs interested in having foreign players without taking up foreign player slots.
Requirement
Among the main requirements for obtaining the naturalization letter, foreigners must have "permanent residence for at least three years prior to the date of application" and must not have "absented themselves" from the country "for a maximum period of one hundred and eighty days per year, during the first three years". (D)