Don't mention the Warne (page 2 of 2)

I don't blame KP one bit for taking the action that he did - sportsmen have short careers and it makes absolute sense for them to maximise their earnings whilst they can. But Pietersen's case, and similar examples in English county cricket and other sports, suggest that there is a growing and worrying trend of sportsmen being able to adopt nationalities as it suits them.

We are all aware of the case of African athletes who become citizens of countries with which they have not even the most tenuous connections to further their careers and to enhance their earning potential. Some national football teams are packed with players who did not grow up as nationals of the team that they play for.

Will Beijing 2008 be a watershed on nationality?

The Beijing Olympic Games could be the first in history where a significant number of the medal winners will have been induced to compete for a country by cash offers they couldn't refuse.

We will hear the national anthems of some states ringing out in the stadium to salute athletes whose only reason for running under their flag was that they were given money to do so. In short, nationality will have been negotiable - the athlete is a mercenary who sells himself to the highest bidder.

How long before this enters others sports in a big way - could we, for example, see a football World Cup winning team of players with no original connection to the country for which they play?

Far fetched - maybe, but remember that many members of the successful Irish team in the recent cricket World Cup had rather dubious Irish heritages.