It is not possible under Regulation 8.1(b) to assume eligibility via blood grandparents if a Player has been formally and legally adopted.
Among the most notable countries to have availed of the "granny rule" is the Republic of Ireland, where the wide spread of the Irish diaspora left large numbers of potential recruits, especially in the United Kingdom.
[6] Jack Charlton (manager 1986–96) was especially noted for recruiting English-born footballers who had Irish ancestry.
[8] FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, has eligibility rules largely similar to those of the WBSC.
The only use of the grandparent rule is to determine eligibility to represent the national team of a country's dependent territory, with two notable examples being those of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, both US insular areas with their own national federations, and whose native-born residents are US citizens by birth.
[10] FIBA, however, has a unique restriction on participation of naturalised players in its official competitions that has no parallel in association football, either rugby code, or baseball and softball.