THE Professional Darts Corporation has issued an update to its ruling in regards to nationality.
A player who wishes to participate in a PDC or PDC-affiliated event where nationality is a determining factor for eligibility must prove the following in order to satisfy the PDC’s criteria for nationality:
• The player was born in that nation; OR
• The player holds a valid passport for that nation; OR
• The player has continuous residency (defined as their primary or permanent home in the nation) for five consecutive years immediately preceding the date of the relevant event;
• In cases where a player is holding dual citizenship, the player will be required to determine their primary nationality at the time of entering the relevant event and may not then change nationality for a period of five years;
• In cases where a qualifying event is being staged by a local PDC-affiliated organisation, the PDC’s eligibility rules shall take precedence over those of the local organisation in respect of whether a player is permitted to enter the event or not. In contentious cases, the player’s eligibility must be approved in writing by the PDC before the player is permitted to participate in the event. A player who enters an event and is subsequently denied permission to participate for reasons of eligibility of their nationality shall be entitled to a refund of their entry fee but no further liability shall be accepted by the PDC or its affiliate organisation.
This ruling has been implemented following consultation with the PDPA and both the PDC and PDPA are aware that there are a large number of unique and specific cases regarding player nationalities.
Therefore, the PDC reserves the right to alter or adapt this ruling at its sole discretion in the interests of fairness and sporting integrity.
This ruling is effective from July 1 2019 and is an update to Rule 7.6 of the PDC Order of Merit Rules.