ADAMA Traores hopes of playing for the Socceroos have been dashed with Football Federation Australia confirming that he is ineligible despite being on the verge of gaining his Australian citizenship.

The Melbourne Victory left back represented Ivory Coast at youth level, which under FIFA guidelines disqualifies him from playing for another country.

Traore had been pencilled in for a Socceroos call-up with FFA’s technical department having identified the 23-year-old as a potential solution to the left-back conundrum.

The silver lining for Victory fans is that Traore will be classed as a local once he receives his citizenship, freeing up a spot for another foreign import.

"Under current FIFA regulations, Adama Traore will not be eligible for the Socceroos upon becoming an Australian citizen due to his participation in official matches for the Ivory Coast youth national teams at a time when he did not have Australian citizenship,"an FFA spokesperson said.

"Once Adama obtains Australian citizenship, he will nonetheless be treated as an Australian player for the purposes of participation in the A-League under A-League Regulations."

It was a little known rule until it was revealed that then Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta’s hopes of playing for England were scuppered in 2010. Now at Arsenal, Arteta represented Spain at under 16 and 17 level.

It’s believed Traore represented Ivory Coast at U17, 19 and 21 level.

FFA technical director Han Berger said Traore had been discussed with coach Holger Osieck as a candidate for the role which has been filled by David Carney, Matt McKay, Michael Zullo, Jason Davidson and Aziz Behich since Scott Chipperfield’s retirement.

"We were hoping that he could play for Australia and that’s right (there were discussions). I don’t think it’s a secret that left back position is a difficult one as it is for many teams and countries and he’s still a young player,"Berger said.

"We were interested to see how he would develop when he was fit again and if he could get an Australian citizenship and passport. He would’ve been an interesting option for that difficult position."

Traore, who has already received his Australian residency and is now preparing to sit his citizenship test, told the Herald Sun last month that he had told Ivory Coast of his intention to represent Australia.

“I’ve got the residency so my lawyer is working on the citizenship and hopefully we can get the results very soon. I believe everything is going to be all right,"Traore said.

“I believe so (I am good enough), I trust myself and if I get the opportunity to play for Australia I will take it with both hands."