Ardaitz Villorejo Says Bolivia Tried to Call Him Up Despite No Family Ties

Ardaitz Villorejo, an 18-year-old winger playing for Eibar in Spain, has revealed that the Bolivian national team reached out to him twice despite him having no family connections to the country. Speaking in an exclusive interview with César Mosquera, Villorejo recounted, “They contacted me because they heard I had Bolivian relatives. But since I don’t, nothing came of it. It happened twice, not just once.”

Born in Spain to a Colombian mother, Villorejo has no direct ties to Bolivia that would make him eligible to represent the national team. The episode highlights how some football federations cast wide nets in search of dual nationals, sometimes relying on unverified rumors about players’ heritage.

This kind of outreach has become more common in South America, where national teams frequently look to tap into Europe-based talent with ancestral ties. In Villorejo’s case, however, the interest didn’t move forward due to a lack of eligibility.