The first approaches date back to 2016. Cameroonian Joel Embiid, NBA superstar, had started discussions with the French Basketball Federation to try to obtain French nationality. Six years later, the Philadelphia Sixers pivot has obtained the blue-white-red passport, reports The Team. According to the daily, the administrative procedures were launched at the initiative of the FFBB.
On paper, the prospect of seeing Embiid carry the hopes of the French Olympic title in Paris in 2024 is enough to spark excitement, especially with a possible association with Rudy Gobert in the racket. What is certain is that the colossus of Yaoundé, who would have an uncle and an aunt living in France, will not participate in the Euro, which will be held at the beginning of September, and whose preselection is already known.
But his naturalization does not guarantee him direct access to the France team, according to the general manager of the Blues, Boris Diaw. “The day when it will be obtained, it will be another subject to make a selection and to take the players who have the capacity to carry this team of France while remaining in the state of mind of the group”, he explained at the beginning of June. . It is still hard to imagine that the Federation went to all this trouble for nothing.