If you were born in England but big your parents were Spanish, surely you are British ?

[Lardlizard]

Born n bred here
So if someone said, about our child being a good footballer, and will be playing for England when he’s older, as a friendly compliment
It’s kinda rude to get offended and say we are not English we are Spanish
He will play for Spain if he plays for anyone in a really arsed way as if it’s offensive being. Called British or English

Not necessarily. Being born in a country to foreign nationals does not give you automatic nationality to the country you are born in.

eg You cant just decide to play for X national team because you live there, you would have to be naturalised, or find parents/grandparents who were also of X nationality.

So the mother of this child, has been born n bred here

Don't blame them, at the moment.

So the child’s mother is also British

I would say the person is Spanish. My DC was born in the US and has a US passport but he's British because both me and my DH are (& obviously has a British passport too). He could choose to play for the US when older (hypothetically, he's not a top athlete!) but we'd definitely push for him to play for England / GB (if Olympics), if he were ever of that calibre.

But this child would be the equivalent of your future grandchild that would be born in be USA

You originally said both parents are Spanish. So do you actually mean that the DF is Spanish and the DM is British?

If he's born in the UK with a British mother then yes the child is British.

If he's born in the UK and both parents are Spanish then it would depend on their immigration status when he was born.

But you said in your title that both patents were foreign nationals, and then you say the child’s mother is British?

I think OP means grandparents Are Spanish, had a daughter in the UK who is now(presumably )A British citizen. Daughter has a son ,also (presumably) a British citizen . Someone said child would play for the England team. Mum got offended because she's Spanish and the kid should play for Spain.

I think...

The child’s mother’s parents ( so the grandparents) are Spanish
The child’s mother is born n bred here
So imo British and her son is also born n bred here and also imo British
In her opinion both of them are Spanish
Yet can speak a word of Spanish

Can’t speak a word of Spanish

Stock spot on 👏👏

I can speak a bit of Spanish,can I be Spanish?

😂😂

In her opinion both of them are Spanish

Who says this? The mother or the grandmother?

They would probably play for whichever country would have them to be fair, not many footballers get their pick 🤣

I think someone born in Britain with Spanish parents would consider themselves Spanish. A British born mother makes you more removed from that but I wouldn’t think it’s a big deal

Look she could be a twat (regardless of nationality) or she could either be quite national/patriotic/cares about culture and origins or has wet dreams about her kid being the next Xavi of Spanish football.

Who knows?

It's not something to lose sleep over .

The mother

It was like she was deeply offended!!

Well, perhaps you were coming across the way you do on this thread, as if you know best about what nationality this family is? Obviously the child would be eligible to play for England, but might not want to.

My son was born in London, does not have a British passport (though he is entitled to one), does not identify as British or English, and while he’s a decent footballer, playing for England would strike him as a weird idea.

Hmm, I guess if her DC's dad is Spanish and her own heritage is Spanish I can understand why she would say her DC would play for Spain. I don't know the ins and outs of how football teams work but I guess she was just showing recognition for her heritage.

Strange that she was deeply offended though!

The child’s father is also British

I agree with @Glasscrab - if you were coming across as if you know better than the mother, or if you were acting as if playing for England was the best thing ever, then I can see why she'd be offended.

Football is a bit tribal, I find. My cousins were born in another European country and they have lived there all their lives. Their mother is from that country and they regard themselves as being from that country, but when it comes to football, they passionately support the English club based in the hometown of our grandfather. I doubt that they've ever even been there!

Identities are complex. My neighbour was born and bred in the UK and travels on a British passport, but he regards himself, his wife and their children as Italian, even though none of them speak the language fluently. It was the culture and identity that he grew up with, I guess.

Same as many British Indians - many will identify as being both Indian and British, and why not? Both are important aspects of their identity.

Ultimately, identity is quite a personal thing, and where there are complex connections with different places, I don't think it's for anyone else to define how you should or shouldn't identify. Within reason, of course - there has to be a genuine link!