Eligibility proposal

looks like i was right, FIFA allow either side to play for either country, sense prevails. I always knew I was very sensible:

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2007/1106/fifa.html


FHTB good luck to your NI career

Originally posted by paul_oshea: I think a compromise should be reached. Taking into account the Derry situation.

Anybody born on the 32 County Island of Ireland can play for either Northern Ireland or the Republic Of Ireland, with either a British Passport or an Irish Passport. Therefore the likes of fbtn or whatever he is called can play for Northern Ireland like he so wishes. I think this is the fairest compromise of all. Who agrees?
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interesting move and I hope it is accepted by both parties. If only O'Shea hadn't been capped yet - the north could have snapped him up!!!

There always gonna come up with a solution like that, there was no way that they would dare over-rule the good fri agreement and prevent players from the north playing for the republic...

Bad title choice. Clearly not finalised yet.

A compromise anyway. WHat ye think of it Ealing Green, Not Brazil etc.

Well maybe so now, typical told ye so attitude Ireland4ever but when i asked who agreed I GOT 0 replies. SO obviouslly no one else thought it.

agreed on finalised, though it has been put forward by fifa, im sure there will be more of a dispute.

Nice one. As our resident sage (I don't mean in the herb sense) Paulo Shea says it seems like the most logical option.

FIFA have still kept the door open though by inviting further submissions - very democratic altogether aren't they. I wonder how vociferous the IFA will be given, presumably, a defection from north to south is much more likely. I'm also wondering if there is much precedence of the FIFA executive committee overruling the legal committee given that the legal committee should seemingly be the more expert. Finally in my series of wonderings I wonder what I'll have for dinner....hmmm, chicken burritos perhaps, I'll let y'all know if I come up with anything special.

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Well maybe so now, typical told ye so attitude Ireland4ever but when i asked who agreed I GOT 0 replies. SO obviouslly no one else thought it.

agreed on finalised, though it has been by fifa, im sure there will be more of a dispute.

No matter how much the likes of EG tried to convince us otherwise Fifa were never in the real world likely to ignore the political situation on this island when making their ruling. It's a far too sensitive and complicated quagmire that they were never going to allow themselves to be dragged into.

Unfortunately for NI fans though the latest FIFA offering is a pretty poor consolation prize as far as the IFA is concerned anyway as I can't see them gaining too many footballers from the south (whether they are good enough for us or not).

My next question is can foreign born nationals whose parents or grandparents hold ROI citzenship now declare for NI instead? If this is the case they could pick up a few Clinton Morrisons, Kevin Kilbanes etc.

Paul, why does this seem like an exercise in showing people you might have got something right? Just wondering, feeling a bit unsure of yourself today maybe?

Sanity prevails. I can see why the IFA would be annoyed with this as you would think that more players will be coming our way than vice versa but I can see them accepting this. They're surely just as sick of the whole thing as we are!

At the end of the day this is the fairest thing to do, really hope its done and dusted.

Originally Posted by kingdom hoop

Paul, why does this seem like an exercise in showing people you might have got something right? Just wondering, feeling a bit unsure of yourself today maybe?

NO, but I always have the most logical answers, yet I am the last to get listened too and I don't just mean on this forum either!!! heres just one off the top of my head hoop, we were doing a quiz last week and one person proposed using our joker on film and tv, i said no way cos it was our worst result last year when we did it and we were missing the member of the team who answered 4 out of the 5 questions that time round, but no one listened and they went ahead and did it anyhow! Even though i suggested sport or music which we got 8 and 9 out of and subsequently ended up not winning!!


YI, I like your point, if they have they realise this they could certainly capitalise on it.

I heard you then Paul but I thought you were in the cuckoo's nest.
Then so could this compromise be also.
But at least you are in touch with the thinking of the great minds at FIFA.

With hindsight on Sept. 9 some hint was mentioned in an ET article
At the heart of Fifa’s investigation are believed to be concerns that the existing situation is unfair on the IFA and Northern Ireland. As things stand, players born in Northern Ireland, such as Gibson, are entitled to play for the Republic, a right confirmed by the Good Friday Agreement. Fifa are believed to be asking this: if players born in the north are entitled to play for the Republic, surely those born in the Republic are entitled to play for the North?

Originally Posted by youngirish

My next question is can foreign born nationals whose parents or grandparents hold ROI citzenship now declare for NI instead? If this is the case they could pick up a few Clinton Morrisons, Kevin Kilbanes etc.

Good question. It'll hinge on the finalised wording FIFA come up with; whether place of birth alone is the judgment criteria or if it is citizenship. It would seem better (as in there would be less 'nation shopping') to limit it to people born on the island who would have the choice. I'd imagine though that in-keeping with the general rules if parents/grandparents are born on the island then the offspring will have the choice. Tricky one.

As it stands now, for footballers born abroad the annex criteria applies.
I can't imagine that that would change.

Otherwise we would suddenly be an option for Channel Islanders

Delighted to hear common sense has prevailed. Henry McDonald in the Observer on Sunday and his IFA insiders guessed wrong:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world...205029,00.html

Footballers from Northern Ireland do not have the right to play for the Republic of Ireland, despite the Good Friday Agreement.The Observer has learnt that Fifa - soccer's international ruling body - will not change its internal rules in order to allow players to choose which nation to represent. At a meeting with the Belfast-based Irish Football Association (IFA) last month, Fifa said it would prevent the southern Football Association of Ireland (FAI) from offering places to young northerners in the southern national squad.


Fifa was forced to act after the IFA made a complaint alleging that the Dublin-based football association was poaching young players from nationalist parts of Northern Ireland. 'A fortnight ago Fifa told the IFA that the FAI had to comply by the end of the month to the ruling or else it would be taken up by the world body's executive committee. Basically the IFA won but the [IFA] doesn't want to say so because it is loath to cause a cross-border row with their southern counterparts,' one of the sources told The Observer.'Nationalists, including the Irish Foreign Minister, have argued that under the Belfast Agreement you have the right to be either Irish or British and because of that young players from nationalist backgrounds have a right to choose between Northern Ireland or the Republic.
'The IFA's legal team pointed out that Fifa is a private organisation with its own rules and can't therefore be dictated to by a political treaty like the Belfast Agreement. Fifa agreed with this analysis - the Belfast Agreement has nothing do with Fifa's rules,' the source added.
He pointed out that during discussions in Zurich two weeks ago, Fifa raised the issue of its internal Circular 901, a ruling which barred three Brazilian stars from turning out for the Gulf State of Qatar in 2004. 'Circular 901 was basically the precedent case that bolstered the IFA's challenge,' the source said.
All three football associations refused this weekend to confirm that Fifa had made a ruling favourable to the IFA. A Fifa spokesman said: 'We are waiting on feedback from Fifa's own legal representatives.'
Northern Ireland supporters, however, have welcomed news that Fifa is about to plug the leakage of some young players into the Republic's football squad. According to highly placed sources, football's world governing body also agreed that Irish Republic passport holders who are otherwise entitled to play for the northern team could now turn out for Northern Ireland and would be issued with a special Fifa certificate at the team's away games. It is understood this initiative was proposed by the IFA, which under its Chief Executive, Howard Wells wanted to remove the rule that only British passport holders could play for Northern Ireland.
Gary McAllister, the secretary of the Amalgamated Northern Ireland Supporters Club, said fans would support moves to allow Irish passport-holders to play for the northern team.
'It's very encouraging that Fifa is going to rule that players can't be poached or defect from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland. Fans will also be pleased that the IFA has sought to solve the passports issue.
'Most fair-minded supporters are just glad that young lads are wearing the green jersey of Northern Ireland, they don't really care what passport that player holds,' he said.
But former Mayor of Derry and SDLP Assembly member Pat Ramsey vowed yesterday to raise the issue again with the Irish Foreign Minister. Ramsey has fought for the right of young players based in Derry to play for the Republic rather than Northern Ireland.
'How is it right that a guy with Irish parents who lives in Birmingham, Boston or Budapest could play for the Republic of Ireland yet someone who lives just up the road in Derry or Newry can't? I will be asking Dermot Ahern to take up this issue again with Fifa and to defend the right of young nationalists to play for the Republic just as I would defend the right of anyone who wanted to play for Northern Ireland,' he said.
Picking sides
Darron Gibson: A Derry-born player who played for Northern Ireland at schoolboy level. After joining Manchester United Gibson switched to the Republic of Ireland. Now on loan to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, Gibson is in the Republic's Under-21 squad. The expected Fifa ruling does not apply retrospectively so he will remain a player for the Republic.
Alex Bruce: The son of Manchester United's former captain and current Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce could have qualified to play for Northern Ireland because his grandparents were born in Bangor, Co Down. Bruce Junior received three invitations to play for Northern Ireland at Under-21 level but instead chose the Republic. His decision in 2006 provoked a clash between the North's then manager Lawrie Sanchez and the FAI.
Alan Kernaghan: Although born in Yorkshire the central defender was eligible to play for Northern Ireland because his parents came from there. But he chose to play for the Republic and earned 26 caps under Jack Charlton including games at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Kernaghan was the subject of prolonged booing and jeering at Windsor Park in Belfast during a tense World Cup qualifier between the Republic and Northern Ireland which ended in a 1-1 draw and the southern team qualifying for the finals.

Not the outcome I foresaw but I'll take that.

Though I'll qualify it's not's an outcome. I think the term "finalised" in this thread title is quite misleading (you crude, rudderless tabloid hack Paul ) I'm guessing my northern counterparts won't see this as fair as they'll point out -with some justification -that it'll likely be close to all one way traffic.

But it might open up the possibility of them getting access to some of the lads frequently looked down upon and referred to as "Plastic Paddies" over on their patch ...and good luck to them.

That Harry Clarke article is rank by the way. How a journo could get his facts so utterly wrong (Kernaghan) in this day and age is jaw dropping.

Hopefully this can be put to bed anyway. Everybody is pure sick of it. It was always the most sensible outcome although I'm not sure if the IFA will be too happy about it as how likely is it they'll be able to attract any players from south of the border? Not very I imagine. Even then I don't think every nationalist will be knocking frantically on the FAI's door but at least they should have the choice available to them.

It does show though that FIFA are very clued up as regards the real politik on the ground on our island.

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

That Harry Clarke article is rank by the way. How a journo could get his facts so utterly wrong (Kernaghan) in this day and age is jaw dropping.

Jawdropping !
Harry Clarke? Ahem Ahem

try
Henry McDonald

Has anyone thought a little deeper about this "compromise"? i certainly do...

Do what?

Originally Posted by geysir

Jawdropping !
Harry Clarke? Ahem Ahem

try
Henry McDonald

Sorry Geysir. Thought Harry Clarke sounded odd.

Just grabbed the name from the previous poster which at least shows I'm no worse at copying and pasting freely accessable info than this particular professional correspondent.