Eligibility Rules, Okay

[Not Brazil]

From the IFA's persprective, it would be a lot harder for a player to claim it was their boyhood dream to represent ROI at senior level after representing NI at underage level if they'd had the option to represent ROI at underage level

Going forward, that's no longer an issue.

They all have that option - from Day 1.

[Not Brazil]

I think what NB is proposing wouldn't even be an unwritten rule - just a selection policy by the IFA. They don't need any agreement from the FAI either. It doesn't change the rights of any player but it does address the issue raised by some IFA fans about players who they feel are not wholly committed.

They will ask a player at 18 if he is fully committed to playing for the IFA team, if he says yes, then he is available for selection, if he says no, then the IFA can decide not to select him. If he subsequently changes his mind then the IFA will live with that risk and can't stop him switching to another football association if he qualifies elsewhere.

In a nutshell.

And, of course, if the player choosing the FAI changes his mind for whatever reason, he can switch to the IFA, if he wishes.

[Not Brazil]

To SolitudeRed.

You asked me on the James McClean thread:

"NotBrazil on your suggestions for some sort of voluntary agreement based on the age of 18 etc do you think it would be acceptable for all NI fans for a player who had declared for the FAI to return to the IFA?"

I felt the question more suitable to this thread.

I'm not advocating any "voluntary agreement'' - I'm suggesting a selection procedure that the IFA could utilise from Under 19 upwards.

In dealing with the substance of your question, the player wouldn't be "returning" to the IFA - he would be switching to the IFA, having chased his dream with the FAI. I'm ignoring Under 18 and younger.

I can't answer for all Northern Ireland fans, but, on reflection, I guess it's not dissimilar to a young English player chasing his dream with England, realising he's not going to make it, and switching to Northern Ireland on account of his eligibility in order to have a senior International career.

I would advocate that such a switch from the FAI to the IFA would have to be player driven ie. it would be entirely up to the player to instigate contact with the IFA.

On balance, I'd give such a player a chance to prove his worth.

[gastric]

Just to humour you, at the age of 16 you are allowed to do the following:

Get married or register a civil partnership with consent
Drive a moped or invalid carriage
You can consent to sexual activity with others aged 16 and over
Drink wine/beer with a meal if accompanied by someone over 18
Leave school on the official school leaving date
Get a National Insurance number
Join a trade union
Work full-time if you have left school
Be paid national minimum wage for 16/17 year olds
Join the Armed Forces with parental consent
Change name by deed poll
Leave home with parental consent
In certain circumstances you must pay for prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests
Choose a GP
Consent to medical treatment
Buy premium bonds
Pilot a glider
Buy a lottery ticket
Register as a blood donor, but you won't be called to give blood until you're 17
Apply for a passport without parental consent

The net widens at 17:

Drive most vehicles and pilot a helicopter or plane
No longer be subject to a care order
Become a blood donor
Be interviewed by the Police without an adult present.

The magic milestone of 18 bestows the following privileges:

The right to vote
Sue or be sued
Open a bank account in your own name
Perform professionally abroad
Serve on a jury
Get a tattoo
Buy cigarettes and tobacco
Buy and drink alcohol in a bar
See an 18 certificate film at the cinema
Buy fireworks
Leave home
Marry or register a civil partnership
Make a Will
Leave your body for medical study if you die
Carry an organ donor card
You cannot be made a ward of the court
Own land, buy a house or flat & apply for a mortgage
If you are adopted, you can apply to see a copy of your original birth certificate
Ride a motorbike above 125cc with a licence
Drive lorries between 3500kg and 7500kg with a trailer up to 750kg (with the appropriate licence)

Finally, at 21 you are permitted to:

Be elected as a Member of Parliament, local councillor or a mayor
Adopt a child
Hold an airline transport pilot's licence for an aeroplane, helicopter and gyroplane
Apply for a provisional licence to drive a large passenger vehicle or heavy goods vehicle
Supervise a learner driver (providing you have held a full licence for the same type of vehicle for at least three years)


I wonder where the choice of national football team comes in???

No your posts are not humouring, they are boring me. Alex Bruce, Shane Lowry and Stephen Ireland are examples of players who made decisions in relation to their national careers in their own time and should be respected for it. Th last thing I would want to see are players who indicate regret of their choice of association when their careers end, examples - Mark Lawrenson and Martin Keown. The continued mention of age on here is what I take issue with in terms of decision making.

[Charlie Darwin]

Did Lawrenson or Keown say they regretted their choice? I think both have said they were happy to have chosen their respective countries. Kevin Gallen would be an example of a player who'd regretted choosing England.

[Not Brazil]

The last thing I would want to see are players who indicate regret of their choice of association when their careers end, examples - Mark Lawrenson and Martin Keown. The continued mention of age on here is what I take issue with in terms of decision making.

Of course, the indication of prefered career path at age 18, is reversible, if the player later regrets his choice of Association.

The beauty of switching.

[Paddy Garcia]

Did Lawrenson or Keown say they regretted their choice? I think both have said they were happy to have chosen their respective countries. Kevin Gallen would be an example of a player who'd regretted choosing England.

True - though more accurately he regretted not securing a career with England. Only then did he show regret.

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't think so. I thought Gallen was convinced to play for England because it would make him a more valuable asset to the club.

[SkStu]

there was a rumour at the time that NI man Alan MacDonald who was club captain at QPR at the time was very persuasive in the career of Gallen Sr and took every opportunity to "dissuade" him from throwing his lot in with us. As i said, just a rumour but somewhat believable all the same.

[Predator]

Terrible article here: http://irishecho.com/?p=69482

I can't believe the use of the term "magpie" to describe the FAI.

Here's a snippet:

there is something troubling about McLean’s emergence. It’s not that his raw talent doesn’t bode well for the future. Or that he looks like he may become the type of player who could be pivotal to the Republic’s campaigns over the next decade. It’s about his background. Here is a player whose development as a footballer had very little if anything to do with the FAI. They may well give him an FAI blazer this summer but it won’t change the fact he was born and bred under the auspices of the IFA.

[Charlie Darwin]

And there was me thinking Derry City had played some sort of role in his development! Turns out it was those 3 or so appearance for Northern Ireland underage teams that made his entire career happen.

[seanfhear]

And there was me thinking Derry City had played some sort of role in his development! Turns out it was those 3 or so appearance for Northern Ireland underage teams that made his entire career happen.

Jeez if they can work that kind of wonders in three games we will have to let more of our young players avail of their magic !

[SwanVsDalton]

Terrible article here: http://irishecho.com/?p=69482

I can't believe the use of the term "magpie" to describe the FAI.

Here's a snippet:

That could be the worst one yet. It's the kind of article both foot.ie and OWC could almost come together in shared disdain about. Cross-community awfulness.

[Charlie Darwin]

I also feel the article might have a little more weight if they'd spelled his name correctly at any point.

[The Fly]

No your posts are not humouring, they are boring me.

The post was made to humour your prattle about player welfare, not to provide you with a laugh.

However, given your recent contributions to this thread I can't say that your confusion surprises me.

[The Fly]

I can't believe the use of the term "magpie" to describe the FAI.

I know, that's just fowl!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Did Lawrenson or Keown say they regretted their choice? I think both have said they were happy to have chosen their respective countries. Kevin Gallen would be an example of a player who'd regretted choosing England.

Especially as my own pal, sports editor of the Irish Post at the time who went to interview him (and the brother) at the family homestead, said his own family jokily referred to him then as 'The Brit'...

[ArdeeBhoy]

Of course, the indication of prefered career path at age 18, is reversible, if the player later regrets his choice of Association.

So why have it at all in the first place?? A complete orange, or even green, herring.

[gastric]

The post was made to humour your prattle about player welfare, not to provide you with a laugh.

However, given your recent input on this thread I can't say that your confusion surprises me.

m

I was just meeting cynicism with cynicism. The length of your post indicated a condescending attitude and because of its its sheer length, it bored me. I think you need to accept cynicism works both ways!.

[gastric]

In relation to Keown, he came from a very close knit Irish community in Oxford. He got called up for England at the age of 16 and after realised that it meant he could not then play for the country he really wanted play for - Ireland. He admitted after his career ended that he had made a mistake and he felt he had let his family down and the Irish community in Oxford. .
On Lawrenson, he has definitely said that England was his first choice, but when Ireland came calling, he came on board. It was only when he realised that he was pretty good that doubts about his choice set in. I will try to find articles on this, but don't have the time at the moment!