Should we merge?

[sligoman]

I've noticed a lot of people seem to want the F.A.I. and the I.F.A. to join together. I'm totally against this. How would the rest of ye feel about this?

[Colbert Report]

yes i would like to merge, give us more players to choose from and a vote on the international football council.

[Dan K]

I'm not actually bothered either way, but I really can't see the IFA going for it.

[CollegeTillIDie]

I am in favour for the following reasons 1/The boys in Merrion Square would have to make room for some of the boys from Donegall Place, give me Jim Boyce over John Delaney anyday 2/ An All-Ireland professional League would emerge which is in the long term best interests of club football on this island
3/ We would finally get an All-Ireland team which would most likely qualify for tournaments more often than either NI or the Republic have been able to do historically, having 6 million people to choose from rather than 4.2 million makes sense

[Éanna]

The ideal scenario for the real football fans on the ground would be that both were disbanded and the fans themselves could organise things properly and set about putting a proper structure in place. That won't happen, so in the meantime, the best option is a merger- which won't happen either.

[Volcán Masaya]

Can we merge with Brasil or Argentina instead?

I like the idea of all-Ireland team, we have it in most other sports, but I don't think it will make us much stronger.
Look at Germany, if anything, they declined a bit after reunification. Or another example... an all-GB team wouldn't be that much better than the present England team, shore up a position or two, but overall not a huge difference.

[Closed Account 2]

Im for it, both the FAI and IFA are getting left behind, the domestic leagues are not in too good a shape - in the long run its the only way forward. Times have changed since the 70s and 80s, I dont see why it couldnt happen in the next 10 years.

[FarBeag]

Well it wont hurt.They have some good players and very passionate fans but i really dont think it will ever happen.

[A face]

Im for it, both the FAI and IFA are getting left behind, the domestic leagues are not in too good a shape - in the long run its the only way forward. Times have changed since the 70s and 80s, I dont see why it couldnt happen in the next 10 years.

I think you are right there .... if they merge now, they can turn it around .... wht will it be like in ten years time if we haven't merged by then ???

info@fai.ie - info@irishfa.com

[oconghc2]

its strange that since the win over England - we're starting to hear all this talk of merger!! maybe just a coincidence.

I'm 100% for it though - it's sad that its still partionist. Who knows there may be a united ireland in the near future so why not get a head start now on the football side! Just hope we dont have to sing Irelands Call

shake up is needed and maybe a shift of power from Merrion Square is whats needed! And I reckon a manager like Sanchez is whats needed!

When we played under Charlton - emphasis was put on pressure and passion because our players were supposedly less talented! (Questionable though!) It worked to an extent!

Now we have worse players than we had back then! and yet we show little or no passion and put opposition under hardly any pressure!(take a bow John O Shea et al.). Someone like Sanchez would probably get more out of players!

[ThatGuy]

Can we merge with Brasil or Argentina instead?

I like the idea of all-Ireland team, we have it in most other sports, but I don't think it will make us much stronger.
Look at Germany, if anything, they declined a bit after reunification. Or another example... an all-GB team wouldn't be that much better than the present England team, shore up a position or two, but overall not a huge difference.

Who cares if an All-Ireland team makes it any stronger? That is besides the point. There should only be one Ireland team, even if that meant that we were to have a weaker team.

[crc]

merge with a british team, boll0x to that
that would mean we would have roy carroll as are second keeper
boll0x to that

Go back to your cave.

[Gerrit]

I voted no.:

- I can see the games would all be in Dublin while we in Belfast would get an U21 game as maximum.

- No Northerners would make the team, which is fair enough in some way I guess but which is something no OWC fan will like.

- The same as what used to happen with Nationalists at Northern Ireland games in the past, would happen with Unionists who want to support the merged team. With all those Celtic jerseys at Lansdowne, you cannot deny the ROI fanbase also has a sectarian element. I don't think any Unionist would feel welcome at Lansdowne, and then we're talking about those who travel to Dublin and thus obviously want to support a United Ireland team.
and I fear there'd even be incidents with a few ROI fans trying to make the Northerners feel unwelcome in a very explicit way (remember what happened to Israeli fans ?).

- the Unionist fans have the same rights to carry a Union Jack to the new team's games as the Southerners have the right to wear the tricolore. The majority of fans will be mature enough to accept both, but I can see this giving problems with a minority of less respecting fans from both sides.

- as per FIFA rules, when you merge national sides you need to merge leagues. I don't think apart from Linfield, Glens and Ports any Northern team would be invited to the new league.



I don't think this island is ready for mergers yet. Try to further build bridges via Setanta Cup and other initiatives, but don't blow up existing bridges by wanting to rush things.

[Zidane]

Apart from anything else, we would have to share the ticket allocation and that will make it even harder to get to games.

[thejollyrodger]

I voted no. I dont want all those loyalist down in dublin with all their british paraphernalia. i dont know how it would make the side any better either.

[Tired&Emotional]

Recipe for disaster, and I don't mean on the pitch. Can you imagine the hardliners (from both sides but moreso from NI) being "told" to merge....there'll be riots among the home fans!!!

I think this should be thought thru' properly and not just as a means to get a better squad on the pitch. Anyway has anyone seen the clubs the NI players are with?!

[Kingdom]

So just beacuse we didn't make the playoff's we should merge with the IFA . Fcuk that. The only good reason for that would be to get an All-Irish league.
Can't see the Belfast boys wanting to trapse down to Lansdowne every second month (I'd imagine there would be a switch between dublin and Belfast every second game).
Besides why would the Norn Iron supporters want to come to Lansdowne to be told to 'sit down' or 'stop making noise you're ruining it for everyone'.

[gspain]

Should the people of NI get a say?

How about if there was a poll on the English site - should we merge with the RoI coz Duff would solve their left side iof midfield problem. We'd be up in arms.

The F.A.I. split from the IFA in 1921 and are hardly going to go cap in hand and ask to be taken back nor should they.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Outside the context of an all Ireland state of whatever kind (and maybe not even then ) No we should not 'Merge'.

I'd have far more time for the idea of a unified league than a unified national team. No winners in it and I've no interest in disenfranchising anyone -on our side or theirs.

[Dodge]

LOL @ some of the responses here. A reason for not merging was that it'd be harder to get tickets... Sweet jesus, has nobody a sense of realism here.

Would love it to happen but politics, and opnly politics, dictate it won't. Any Irishman who votes no for footballing (or tickets, or grounds) reasons needs toask themselves some real hard questions