For most of squash’s professional history, nationality has been remarkably uncomplicated.
You were born somewhere. You represented that place. End of discussion.
The Olympics have changed that.
Not because athletes have suddenly become less patriotic, but because the arrival of LA28 has transformed passports into something they never previously were in professional squash: part of the competitive landscape.
After recently announcing his switch from Scotland to represent Australia, Greg Lobban understands exactly how uncomfortable that conversation can become - something he opens up about on the latest Squash Player Podcast.
“It was a tough decision,” he says. “I’ve loved playing for Scotland. That’s been some of the highlights of my career.”
Scotland has shaped Lobban, invested in him and shaped him into the player who would rise to the world's top 16. For a young man who grew up in the north of the country, and who only stumbled into a career in squash by accident, there is an obvious inner conflict when he discusses the move.
“I felt like I was losing part of my identity,” he admits. “Scotland has been extremely good to me. It’s been where I’ve been my proudest.”
And yet he will now attempt to qualify for LA28 representing Australia.
From the outside, such decisions invite simple judgements. Loyalty versus ambition. Sporting mercenary versus national servant.
Reality, as it often is in elite sport, is messier.
“The way the setup for the Olympics works,” Lobban explains, “I wouldn’t be representing Scotland, I’d be representing Team GB.
“And it's likely that only three, maybe four players, will be able to compete at the European Games (an LA28 qualification event) and I wouldn’t actually have had any chance of competing at the Olympics."
With Team GB comprising England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Lobban would be up against the likes of Joel Makin, Jonah Bryant, Curtis Malik and the ElShorbagy brothers to even have a chance at earning a place in LA.
But, ranked around the world’s top 20, he believes he is good enough to compete at an Olympic Games.
“Changing to Australia was a squash decision,” he says. “But an off-court decision as well.”
His wife, Donna, is Australian. Their son, Scotty, is half Australian. The family may one day settle there permanently.
“It allows me to live there one day potentially if that’s what we want to do.
"But with where I am, I felt like I I deserved like an opportunity to qualify. It's worked out that Squash Australia want me to represent them going forward and that's what I've decided to do."
There will inevitably be critics. Some will argue that Olympic qualification should only belong to players raised and brought through their native system. Others will question whether changing allegiance undermines international sport altogether.
Lobban understands those objections.
“If someone came in to play for Scotland,” he says, “I probably would’ve had a similar reaction.
“But I think if people get the chance to realise why you’re doing it - that it's for the longer term, that you're making the best decision for your family.
"I think a lot of people would probably do the same. Squash is also a very short career. And obviously you've got to think about life after squash and everything like that as well,"
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of Lobban’s decision is not where he will play, but what it has done to him.
Only months earlier he admits retirement was on the horizon. He has completed a master’s degree and was actively exploring careers beyond squash and felt “content” with reaching World No.16.
Then the Australia move happened.
“It sparked a bit of energy into me,” he says.
“I don’t want to coast anymore - which I have been doing for the past two years.
"I think the Olympics is the pinnacle for most athletes. To be part of the first crop of squash players to do it, I think that would be a huge achievement."
The Olympics have given squash something it has arguably never possessed before: a destination capable of reshaping entire careers - but Lobban's motivation extends beyond rankings.
“I would really love for Scotty to be proud of what I can achieve.”
“For him to grow up and be able to say your dad was an Olympian… that’s pretty cool.”
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