Nigerian soccer player granted Polish citizenship without meeting requirements

Yesterday Polonia Warszawa soccer player Emanuel Olisadebe received Polish citizenship. President Aleksander Kwasniewski granted the native Nigerian citizenship although he did not fulfill the obligation to reside in Poland for at least five years. Olisadebe will play on the national soccer team coached by Jerzy Engel. "I am not able to say how much the Nigerian player will help Polish soccer, but it is a good sign that foreigners are fighting for Polish citizenship," said the voivod of Mazowsze Antoni Pietkiewicz. "It is a sign of the times. Poland enters Europe and Emanuel will enter along with us," said Polonia Warszawa president Janusz Romanowski. "Now I will probably have to change my name to Olisadebowski," joked Olisadebe. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 28, Zycie, page 1, 12) M.M.