UAF Technical Director Ihor Dedyšyn stated that the association will not engage in the naturalization of foreign football players to attract them to the Ukrainian national team. Dedyšyn said this during a press conference, as reported by UNN.
For the past month and a half, the topic of naturalization has been launched and quite actively discussed. My position is that I believe the UAF will definitely not engage in the naturalization of foreign football players. This is not its function... the UAF's function is to create a system that will produce players for national teams.
He noted that Ukrainian coaches who produce players for national teams should work with players holding Ukrainian passports.
If it's a player with ethnic Ukrainian roots, we will only be happy. (...) If there is a player with Ukrainian roots who expresses a desire to obtain a Ukrainian passport and meets the requirements of the national team coach, then we will definitely welcome such processes. I would even say, stimulate them. This is also one of those social, and even political, functions - to maintain unity throughout the world.
Context
Popular Ukrainian sports journalist and football commentator Ihor Tsyganyk reported that the Ukrainian national team could potentially be joined by Brazilian legionnaire Pedro Henrique from Shakhtar Donetsk. In addition, there was information that Shakhtar winger Pedrinho might also receive a Ukrainian passport.
Specifically, regarding the situation surrounding both players, the journalist said the following: "Currently, both players are considering this option. They are thinking about how beneficial it is, how much they need it, how they intend to connect themselves with Ukraine, because there are certain risks. We must understand that if a player receives a passport, he becomes an absolute citizen of Ukraine and must comply with the laws currently in force in Ukraine – and this is a bit of a risk. It seems that since January 16, a law on the possibility of not dual citizenship, but some adjustment with other citizenships, has come into effect, and perhaps there are some positive aspects in that. But at this stage, there is no concrete agreement from the players themselves, where they would say: 'Yes, let's start the process.' Discussions are ongoing."