It depends. At a very high-level, Italia Lacrosse runs three programs for men, women and children: National Team, Youth (which, currently, extends to our U-20 teams) and Heritage. Any tournament that is governed by World Lacrosse Rules, which are typically National Team Senior or Youth events, such as the World Games or a European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) Championship, mandates Italian citizenship and an Italian passport to participate. Exemptions may be available for these tournaments at the present time, but World Lacrosse is working to eliminate them. Heritage tournaments, on the other hand, are not governed by World Lacrosse rules and do not require an Italian passport but only a demonstrable Italian ancestry.

An application for Italian citizenship can be submitted, in the U.S., to the Italian Consulate that governs the state where a player lives. Or, it can be submitted, in Italy, to the appropriate Italian court that governs the town where the player’s last Italian relative was born.

It’s a question of time, money, and convenience. Going through the Italian Consulate in the U.S. will take more time, and require more documents, but cost less money. Going through the Italian court system, will require take less time and require fewer documents, but you will need a commercial service or a private lawyer to present your case to the Italian court. The amount of time saved by going through the Italian court system instead of the Italian Consulate can be between 1 to 2 years. The service costs can range between USD $5,000-$10,000. The merits of these options are best discussed on a one-on-one basis with John Capone, who is our legal counsel and an assistant coach.

No. Selection to any team is a coach’s decision. An Italian passport will only make you eligible for consideration on a National or Youth team. Your skill and the coach’s opinion dictates the rest.

Broadly speaking, eligibility for Italian citizenship is determined by comparing the naturalization date of your last born Italian relative, if any, with the birthdate of their child through whom you plan to claim citizenship. Your last born Italian relative must still have been an Italian citizen at the time that their child was born in order for you to have received the right to Italian citizenship. As with anything, there are exceptions to this rule, and John can guide you in this discussion as well. Italia Lacrosse offers John’s services as a pro bono benefit to its players and their families. He can be reached at jcapone@italialacrosse.us or at +1.401.884.0464 via cell or WhatsApp.