For millions across the globe, the prospect of a European passport represents more than just a travel perk—it’s a ticket to opportunity, security, and, for some, a sense of belonging. But as nations across Europe tighten the rules for naturalization, the question of who gets to call themselves a citizen is under more scrutiny than ever. Nowhere is this debate playing out more publicly than in Italy, where a new citizenship law and the unlikely rise of the Italian baseball team at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) have collided to spark a national conversation.
On March 11, 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court convened a public hearing to address challenges to a contentious new law that restricts the transmission of Italian citizenship. The timing was uncanny. Just hours later, Team Italy—almost entirely composed of Americans with Italian heritage—took the field against Mexico in a decisive WBC group-stage game. Their miraculous victory over Team USA the day before had already made them the tournament’s darlings, and their undefeated group stage run set up a dramatic quarterfinal against Puerto Rico on March 14, 2026.
Yet, behind the espresso-chugging, Armani suit-wearing charm of the Italian squad lies a more complex story about identity and belonging. According to reporting from Sportico and Il Giornale, the Italian government’s new law, enacted last year, now limits the right to claim Italian citizenship by descent to only children and grandchildren of Italians. This marks a significant shift from the previous policy, which allowed anyone with an Italian ancestor and the right paperwork—even if they’d never set foot in Italy—to apply for a passport. The surge in applications, particularly from South America, was staggering: over two decades, the number of residents claiming Italian citizenship there ballooned from 800,000 to more than 2 million.
Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign affairs minister, explained the rationale at the time: “stop the abuse” of passport claims while “protecting true Italian citizens.” At the point of the reform, there were 60,000 pending citizenship applications, highlighting the scale of the phenomenon. On March 12, 2026, the Constitutional Court dismissed challenges to the law as unfounded, effectively closing the door for many distant descendants hoping for an Italian passport.
This tightening of citizenship by descent comes as Italy grapples with a broader debate: Who counts as Italian? While it’s been relatively easy for third- and fourth-generation descendants abroad to claim a passport, it remains notoriously difficult for the children of immigrants born and raised in Italy to become citizens. A 2025 referendum aimed at easing the path to citizenship for these children failed due to low turnout, after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a boycott. The issue remains unresolved, with Italy’s definition of citizenship under intense scrutiny both at home and abroad.
Amid this national soul-searching, Team Italy’s success at the WBC has become a flashpoint. Only three members of the squad were actually born in Italy, with the rest hailing from North and South America. Under WBC rules, players are eligible to represent a country if they can show sufficient documentation that they could obtain that nation’s citizenship—no actual passport required. As a result, several American-born players have been open about not being citizens of Italy, at least not yet.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, asked about his connection to Italy on the Pat McAfee show, shared, “my grandfather is from Niagara Falls, and I did all this research in 2022, so I don’t 100% remember correctly, but I believe it was his father, born and raised in Italy.” Under the new law, Pasquantino would not qualify for a passport, but he remains eligible to play for Team Italy due to his prior participation in the 2023 tournament. “I totally get why people have opinions on it, about eligibility, and things like that,” he told the Rich Eisen show, “but I think it’s an honor.”
Italy is not alone in fielding teams with non-native players. The WBC features squads like Team Great Britain and Team Israel, both eliminated in the group stage, which also rely heavily on players with heritage ties rather than birthright. The phenomenon isn’t limited to baseball. Many European soccer leagues enforce roster limits for non-EU players, prompting stars like Christian Pulisic to use ancestral passports to compete in the Bundesliga and Serie A. Even Lionel Messi, as reported by Corriere della Sera, claimed Italian citizenship through a great-great-grandfather born in 1866.
At the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee requires athletes to hold a valid passport for the country they represent, sparking controversy in high-profile cases. Eileen Gu, the San Francisco-born freestyle skier who has won six Olympic medals for China, has faced persistent questions about her citizenship status, as China does not allow dual nationality and there’s no public record of her renouncing her U.S. passport.
Part of Team Italy’s charm, as noted by Gazzetta dello Sport, is their enthusiastic embrace of Italian culture—donning Armani jackets, downing espresso shots after home runs, and celebrating victories with Bocelli and wine. Their Venezuelan-Italian manager, Francisco Cervelli, appointed in 2025, has been on a mission to find and nurture home-grown baseball talent, driving across Italy in search of the next generation of stars. After the upset win over Team USA, Cervelli called it “one of the best days in my life” during the postgame press conference.
The debate over citizenship is not unique to Italy. Across Europe, countries are rethinking what it means to belong. Sweden, for instance, currently offers one of the most lenient paths to citizenship—five years’ residency and no language requirement. But this is set to change in June 2026, when the residency period will increase to eight years and applicants will need to pass language and civics tests. The application fee will also more than double, and the new requirements will apply retroactively to all pending applications, potentially leading to a wave of rejections.
Germany, meanwhile, reformed its citizenship laws in June 2024, slashing the residency requirement from eight to five years and allowing dual citizenship. Applicants must generally demonstrate B1-level German proficiency and pass a citizenship test, though some elderly applicants are exempt. France, too, has toughened its requirements: from January 2026, all applicants must show at least B2-level French, regardless of whether they’re applying through residency or marriage. The application fee is set to rise to €255 in May, and stricter income requirements have led to a spate of rejections, particularly among pensioners.
Italy’s own rules for naturalization remain among the strictest in Europe: ten years’ residency for non-EU nationals, B1-level Italian, and a €250 application fee. The failed 2025 referendum means this lengthy wait is unlikely to change soon. Other European countries—like Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland—have similarly demanding requirements, with long residency periods, language tests, and, in some cases, bans on dual nationality.
As debates rage in parliaments and courts, and as sports teams both reflect and challenge national identities, the meaning of citizenship in Europe is evolving. For Team Italy, their World Baseball Classic run has sparked joy, pride, and, perhaps most importantly, a fresh look at what it means to be Italian in a changing world.