IFA lifts ban on Sunday Football

[Not Brazil]

Indeed.
And I think you'll find any proposal for soccer games on a Sunday in the north still need to meet the IFA's approval.

That is correct.

It also requires the approval of the two clubs involved.

Were the two clubs agree to play on a Sunday, the IFA will not stand in their way.

[geysir]

Doesn't matter.

Even the GAA managed to let "crown forces" participate in their games and, shock horror, garrison games be played on their hallowed turf before the IFA stopped pandering to the whims of a minority within protestantism. They shot themselves in the foot by allowing themselves to be the last major sporting body on the island to modernise.
It just shows that there are still a significant number of dinosaurs involved in Northern Irish football ! .

There are dinasaurs opposed to change in all walks of life.
Yes it does matter if the requirement is 2/3 or 3/4.
The GAA's vote scraped passed the constitutional requirement of 2/3, how long would we have had to wait for a 3/4 majority?
The IFA last time they had voted came whisker close to the 3/4 requirement.

[EalingGreen]

Indeed.

And I think you'll find any proposal for soccer games on a Sunday in the north still need to meet the IFA's approval. So neither have been fully addressed.

This need for "approval" to which you refer may be a technicality, on the basis that the fixture list, and any deviation from it (e.g. postponements etc) need to be "approved" by the IFA.

But in any case, there is no doubt that approval will be forthcoming as a matter of course. Otherwise, you wouldn't have had the Chairman of Donegal Celtic publicly stating this evening on BBC News that his club is looking to reschedule their January fixture with Newry City to the following Sunday - 7 months before the previous evening's Rule Change officially comes into effect!

P.S. The ban would have been lifted at a previous vote, only there was a spat on some entirely unrelated matters between a section of the delegates and the IFA Executive, which caused this disaffected rump to vote in protest against everything which the Executive had proposed, including the Sunday Ban, thereby causing them to miss the 75% of the vote needed by a bare handful of votes.

[EalingGreen]

I know NI played in the US on a Sunday recently.

Never mind our friendly in the USA last year, we were playing Sunday internationals as long as 25 years ago.

Then again, we were never going to fail to show up for one of our Group games in the 1982 World Cup Finals, were we?

UEFA could've come down on the IFA if they had stopped an IL team playign an away Euro fixture on a Sunday.

There was never any question of the IFA even attempting to stop one of its IL teams from fulfilling a fixture. You compared the IFA dinosaurs unfavourably with their GAA counterparts in an earlier post, but in their defence, faced with the difficulty of securing a 75% majority for change (as opposed to the GAA's 66%?), at least the IFA was prepared to ignore frequent breeches of the ban as a pragmatic response, unlike the GAA, who were much more active in enforcing their respective bans - as the likes of Liam Brady could testify!

[dcfcsteve]

There was never any question of the IFA even attempting to stop one of its IL teams from fulfilling a fixture. You compared the IFA dinosaurs unfavourably with their GAA counterparts in an earlier post, but in their defence, faced with the difficulty of securing a 75% majority for change (as opposed to the GAA's 66%?), at least the IFA was prepared to ignore frequent breeches of the ban as a pragmatic response, unlike the GAA, who were much more active in enforcing their respective bans - as the likes of Liam Brady could testify!

As previously stated - i care not for the GAA. I'm happy to exclude them form any comparisons.

Botttom line is that it's good that the IFA has finally made this change, but absurd that it took them so long - regardless of the percentage required to secure the change.

Now hopefully they'll tackle the use of a divisive UK anthem for a team that is supposed to be representing Northern Ireland alone.

[Macy]

The GAA's vote scraped passed the constitutional requirement of 2/3, how long would we have had to wait for a 3/4 majority?

For a temp removal, at one ground only. They make the IFA look progressive.

It is my personal opinion that there will be an all ireland league of sorts in the not too distant future be it only a larger version of the setanta.The stumbling block to a proper all Ireland league would be the ifa and the fai would also be very much against it.

Obviously the Blazers are the main stumbling block, but the most obvious one that lets them off the hook is the different season calendar.

[Not Brazil]

Now hopefully they'll tackle the use of a divisive UK anthem for a team that is supposed to be representing Northern Ireland alone.

That'll be a matter for Northern Ireland fans.

[dcfcsteve]

That'll be a matter for Northern Ireland fans.

Yeah right.....!

[Lionel Ritchie]

Never mind our friendly in the USA last year, we were playing Sunday internationals as long as 25 years ago.

Then again, we were never going to fail to show up for one of our Group games in the 1982 World Cup Finals, were we?
!

Did NI not play one of their games at Sweden 58 on a Sunday? I remember reading (possibly in a biography) that Big Ian wanted the team withdrawn from the tournament.

[EalingGreen]

Did NI not play one of their games at Sweden 58 on a Sunday? I remember reading (possibly in a biography) that Big Ian wanted the team withdrawn from the tournament.

How remiss of me! You are quite correct, LR. In fact, on their way to the Quarter Finals, they played their first two Group games on a Sunday - a 1-0 victory over Czechoslovakia (08/06/58) and a 2-2 draw with reigning World Champions, W.Germany (15/06/58)

[Dodge]

Don't get into the anthem/flag debate again lads.

BTW while we're on the GAA/IFA debate, fairly ironic that the Ulster delegates within the GAA were most vehemently against opening up croke park to anythign other than boxing, concerts and american football

[Not Brazil]

BTW while we're on the GAA/IFA debate, fairly ironic that the Ulster delegates within the GAA were most vehemently against opening up croke park to anythign other than boxing, concerts and american football

Indeed Dodge.

Even more stark, was the overwhelming rejection of all but one of the Northern Irish counties (Down, i think?) of the move to recind Rule 21 - a rule which procluded participation in Gaelic Games on account of ones occupation.

Of course, by comparison, the 14 dinasaurs (15%) at the IFA who voted to retain the Sunday ban is "worrying"

[dcfcsteve]

Indeed Dodge.

Even more stark, was the overwhelming rejection of all but one of the Northern Irish counties (Down, i think?) of the move to recind Rule 21 - a rule which procluded participation in Gaelic Games on account of ones occupation.

Of course, by comparison, the 14 dinasaurs (15%) at the IFA who voted to retain the Sunday ban is "worrying"

Stop trying to play a zero sum game NB. Both are wrong and both are worrying. I'm no sure how I could be any clearer in stating that I have no time for the attitude if the GAA either ?

The GAA being fcukwits doesn't stop the IFA from justifiably being labelled in the same way. The wrongs of one code in the 'sporting divide' do not negate, justify or over-rule the wrongs of the other.

[Not Brazil]

Stop trying to play a zero sum game NB. Both are wrong and both are worrying.

On the contrary, I find the fact that the dinasaurs at the IFA were roundly beaten on the Sunday ban issue - 85%/15% approx - to be a cause for celebration, not to worry.

By any measurement, that is an overwhelming majority.

It is a progressive step - no ifs, no buts about it.

Begrudgers will be saddened that they have one less stick to beat the IFA with.

[dcfcsteve]

Begrudgers will be saddened that they have one less stick to beat the IFA with.

Yawn.....

Get with the 21st Century fella....

[Gather round]

Now hopefully they'll tackle the use of a divisive UK anthem for a team that is supposed to be representing Northern Ireland alone

Congratulations for not including this in your opening post Steve

PS credit to the dinosaurs, but look out for that meteo...

[Not Brazil]

Get with the 21st Century fella....

I'm delighted that the IFA has taken another step into the 21st Century with the removal of the Sunday ban.

I am very encouraged by the size of the majority to do so.

End of.

[Thunderblaster]

Did NI not play one of their games at Sweden 58 on a Sunday? I remember reading (possibly in a biography) that Big Ian wanted the team withdrawn from the tournament.

An Ian Paisley biography??

[dcfcsteve]

[B]
Congratulations for not including this in your opening post Steve

.

Congratulations on a thoroughly pointless post....

[janeymac]

There was never any question of the IFA even attempting to stop one of its IL teams from fulfilling a fixture. You compared the IFA dinosaurs unfavourably with their GAA counterparts in an earlier post, but in their defence, faced with the difficulty of securing a 75% majority for change (as opposed to the GAA's 66%?), at least the IFA was prepared to ignore frequent breeches of the ban as a pragmatic response, unlike the GAA, who were much more active in enforcing their respective bans - as the likes of Liam Brady could testify!

That was 30+ years ago