You obviously did not miss it, the potential naturalization of Joel Embiid and his possible arrival in the France team is the big topic of the moment on the sidelines of the NBA Playoffs. A subject that has obviously provoked a lot of reactions in recent days and this Wednesday, it was Joel’s dad himself who came to speak to indicate that the initiative did not come from his son, but from the French authorities. We take stock of the latest news.
Before looking at the words of Thomas Embiid, Joel’s father, a little reminder necessary to have all the ideas in place. Monday evening, a real bomb fell on the basketball planet when RMC Sports announced that the star pivot of the Sixers had started the administrative procedures to obtain French nationality, and therefore potentially wear the jersey of the Blues for the major upcoming events (World Cup 2023, Olympic Games 2024 in Paris). The subject, which had already been debated in 2018 when the hypothesis first appeared publicly, unsurprisingly immediately caused a stir. Several players from the French team have shared their opinion on the issue, such as Nicolas Batum, for example, who spoke about the ethical side of this possible naturalization of the Cameroonian pivot born in Yaoundé, while the general manager of EDF Boris Diaw confirmed via the team that Joel had started the naturalization process with the aim of wearing the blue-white-red jersey one day. All of this could therefore lead us to believe that it is the Embiid camp that is knocking on the door of the EDF in order to be able to play major international competitions with Vincent Collet’s group, competitions that Joel is much less likely to play. with Cameroon (no participation in the World Cup or the Olympics in its history).
Except that this Wednesday, we had another story. And it does not come from just anyone since it is therefore Joel Embiid’s father, Thomas, who has stepped up to bring a version different from the basic one. This is what he said according to RFI.
“Joel has not initiated naturalization procedures. It was the French authorities who came to him. »
Ah. Right away it’s not the same speech. As we pointed out in the Apéro of the day, which goes over the whole file, this does not call into question the fact that these administrative procedures are indeed underway, nor does it change the tenor of the debate concerning the ethical side of the potential naturalization of Embiid in order to integrate the Blues. But inevitably, if the initiative comes from the French camp instead of Joel’s camp, we are not really on the same dynamic. We remember that several French players had opposed the arrival of Embiid in EDF four years ago, Evan Fournier in the lead, the latter declaring in particular that “playing for a country without having ties was disturbing”. It’s a speech that we’ve heard a lot in recent days, even if we want to remember that Embiid’s ties with France are not non-existent, he who has family in France and knows how to speak French. . So if it was indeed the French authorities who contacted Joel first in order to integrate an MVP caliber player in view of the big deadlines to come, we say to ourselves that the hypothesis of seeing Embiid in Blue one day is perhaps even more plausible than usual. Because we do not take this kind of initiative without having had a real internal reflection upstream.
Whether these steps come from Joel or from the French authorities, the Cameroonian federation sees for its part necessarily with a dim view the hypothesis of a naturalization of Embiid despite its weak ties with France. Cameroon would obviously like to see its greatest all-time talent defend the colors of its nation in order to take it to heights never before reached.
“I am shocked, I find that it is more rewarding for him to go to a challenge where Cameroon has never participated in the World Cup or the Olympic Games, than to go to a team that is capable of win everything without him. »
Yves Tsala, head of the Cameroon basketball federation
The situation is complex and it is not easy to see clearly. We will surely know more once Joel Embiid has spoken on the issue, he who must make a statement after the opposition Heat – Sixers in the Playoffs according to RFI. This same source also indicated that the Cameroonian federation would « take note » of the future choice of Jojo. In short, we will have to watch this very closely in the days to come.
Text source: RFI
The latest information on the file via @RFI, with in particular Thomas Embiid, Joel’s father, who spoke: « Joel did not initiate naturalization procedures, it was the French authorities who came to him. » https://t.co/dNkY8FAVqv pic.twitter.com/6d5xIuIWv6
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) May 4, 2022