Celtic Cup

[Louis]

A REVIVAL of the Home Internationals Championship - with the Republic of Ireland taking the place of England - could be only a little over two years away.

 

Planning has so far not got past the discussion stage, but, with all four football associations eager to make the tournament work, it could be only a matter of time before agreement is finalised.

 

"There have been discussions over the last two years," a spokesman for the SFA said yesterday. "The SFA are convinced it would be a good idea to have such a tournament, and that includes the team manager. But because of the current fixture scheduling we would need a lead-in time of at least two years."

 

The Home Internationals began in the 19th century and were a focal point of the British season in the 1960s and 1970s before being abandoned in 1984. They were run annually on a mini-league basis, but there is now a preference - in Scotland at least - for a revival to be held every two years as a knockout event.

 

"We are talking about running the tournament on a knockout basis, with the semi-finals being held in August 2009 and then the final and a third-place play-off taking place in February 2010," the SFA spokesman added.

 

The advantage of even years is that, with the World Cup or European Championship being held in the summer, there is no competitive football played in the spring. This leaves a gap in the calendar for the Home Internationals to fill, and, with the matches sure to be keenly contested, those teams who had qualified for the major tournaments would find them ideal preparation.

 

The title of the competition has yet to be decided, but the Welsh FA appear to favour calling it the 'Celtic Cup'. "Things are provisional, but if we could pull this off, the interest would be enormous," said David Collins, the secretary of the WFA. "For the fans, the TV companies and potential sponsors, a Celtic Cup tournament would be huge. And for the managers of the respective teams it would be an opportunity to look at players in competitive friendlies.

 

"We are quite positive about the whole thing, although we appreciate a huge amount of work is needed before it could get off the ground. But the Celtic countries have had a meeting about it and we each decided to go away and work out ways whereby the tournament could be possible."

 

England have so far shown little or no interest in becoming involved, which is why Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland turned to the Republic of Ireland as a fourth party. Given the TV income which English participation could generate, the current participants would certainly listen to any overtures from the FA.

 

"The will is certainly there, and we haven't ruled England out of the equation, either," Collins continued. "Our thought process was that until we can prove we can make this work among ourselves, there is no point asking England to come on board.

 

"Their reasons for ending the old Home Internationals are well known. On the other hand, if we can get the tournament up and running and convince England there are practical solutions to the various issues, then they might want to become involved, anyway."

 

Fixture congestion was one of the reasons for scrapping the tournament in the mid-1980s, while a decline in public interest and clashes between supporters also played a part.

 

Security considerations would be paramount in any revival which included matches between Northern Ireland and the Republic, but the political situation in the north is currently more amenable to such cross-border fixtures than it has been for decades.

 

The proposal to revive the Home Internationals was first made by the Northern Irish in 2005 at a meeting of the four home associations. The FA said then they would not absolutely rule out the participation of England, but said they could not see where such a scheme would fit into the international schedule.

 

"In principle, we have absolutely no objection," the FA's executive director, David Davies, said. "But the issue is where on earth we can sit games like that into the international calendar."

 

Now, however, Collins and his counterparts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic believe they have found at answer to that issue.

 

"The old problem about playing matches at the end of season in May, for example, is easily overcome by simply playing the Celtic Cup fixtures on scheduled international dates during the season itself," Collins added.

 

"The way the international calendar is, there are enough windows of opportunity there. Players would be away with their countries for friendlies, so why not play competitive friendlies on those dates?"

[Louis]

Looks like they have given the green light...

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/i...als/7114148.stm