Irish Football Association

There's an open door policy, and we respect, at a certain point, we respect, um, a person's decision." What-- Can you give us a line? What is the FAI policy towards a talented 15-year-old from the North?

I'll start by saying we've got a really good relationship with the IFA, so the Irish Football Association.

[chuckles] I'm not sure they agree right now.

Uh, well, you know, I understand that a few choice words w- may have been said in recent days, but, you know, myself and Patrick Nelson go back a decade now, to be honest, so we've, we've got really good relations there.

There's a couple other players in the 19s and 21s who would've come across.

Um, and it also, I suppose, points from, from, towards the other side in terms of the Irish FA, um, is that there traditionally there would've been friendly games, maybe your 15s, under-16s against the Republic, and those seem to have disappeared in more recent years.

Uh, so you can see that the Northern Ireland FA are probably becoming a bit more protective here, uh, in terms of providing a simple showcase, uh, for the FAI to look at their talent and, uh, see who potentially, uh, would be interested in switching over.

Uh, but b- before I let you go, I actually wanted to ask you about s- something tangentially related to that, which was your, your column today, um, which was great and also enraging, I, I have to say.

Apparently, Michael O'Neill, the Northern Ireland manager, has hit out at the...

FAIs, and that's the Football Association of Ireland, because I think the IFA is the Irish Farmers Association, and having made an approach for Kedak O'Neill.

Now, Kedak is in the Northern Ireland squad for their upcoming set of games, and as there is competitive fixtures, if he plays, that puts him on the a Northern Ireland player.

So, yeah, interesting to see there might be drama there, but having been on the receiving end of that with Declan Wright and Jack Grealish, I think we can't on one hand give out about players joining or going to England when they've represented us at senior and under 21 levels, and then very well go and do the same to Northern Ireland.

But I was 12 years old.

And so it's one of those things that you sort of take to your grave that you were there when the greatest result in 145 years so far of Irish Football Association history, that was the greatest result.

We beat the host nation in Spain with 10 men because we had a man sent off just a few minutes into the second half.

So we beat them with 10 men.

John McAleery setting up Cliftonville in 1879.

He's involved in setting up the IFA in 1880.

So it's the fourth oldest football association in the world.

It's the second oldest league in the world.

And this goes back to 1921.

And what I find fascinating about that, because I looked at the IFA at the time, the Irish Football Association, which was the governing body of football for all of Ireland.

And the reason why the split happened in soccer, there was a high chance it was going to happen anyway.

but the actual specific catalyst for it happening was Shelburne were in an Irish Cup semi-final against Glen Torn the Lorgan based team the Glen Avon the Glen Avon the Lorgan based team he calls himself an historian ladies and gentlemen Glen Avon or Lorgan Glen Torn or East Belfast come on pledge won my friend Glen Avon actually lost to Glen Torn in the final but but Shelburne had to go up to Belfast for the semi-final and it was a draw and everyone assumed that the replay would be in Dublin but the IFA sub-committee decided the Protest and Appeals Committee decided actually no it's too violent in Dublin so it has to be played in Belfast and what year was this? 1921.

Fair play, two legends in their own rights.

The Irish FA, that would be the Northern Ireland Football Association, say it's time for change at FIFA and they will not be voting for Infantino's re-election next year.

Um, Infantino is, is gone next year unless mass corruption takes place, but mass corruption could well take place.

Abdul Abdulmalik at Boreham Wood, the non-league 23-year-old who apparently is worth 1.5 million, um, says he's capable of reaching the top level and wants to leave Boreham Wood.