Jack Charlton once said if you have a dog called Paddy you can play for Ireland.

Spoke to a former GB captain this morning and he thought it was a joke!!!!!!!

To answer the O/P: 3 years residency is what is required to make you eligible to play for the English national team if you are a non-British national, I believe. Whilst it makes you eligible to play for the team, it doesn't make you English.

I don't know whether this rule applies to others sports.

Did JD ever take up the option of residency?

Residency isn't an option, it's a term that sort of describes what you do when you live somewhere.

For someone who is in their 20's, a 3 year residency of another country (to become a fully paid up national) is ridiculous.
For some, there is good reason for wishing to change citizenship, when they have lived in a different country for a large number of years (3 is not a large number) or if their parents and family are from another country, but sport is making a mockery of a serious subject just to court success.
Although going back to sporting matters, if all of the other nations are playing the system, then to compete, we should probably do the same. Its the system that is flawed, so dont blame the players involved.