Taoiseach Micheál Martin wants the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association to collaborate on all-island soccer development, rte.ie reported.
Martin made the remarks at Tallaght Stadium ahead of an event celebrating Oscar Traynor, a former Fianna Fáil minister and FAI president. Football on the island has remained split between two governing bodies since 1921.
The split began when the Leinster Football Association seceded from the Belfast-based IFA. The breakaway happened after officials scheduled an Irish Cup semi-final between Shelbourne and Glenavon in Belfast instead of Dublin, according to rte.ie.
Martin noted that soccer’s organizational divide predates partition because the sport grew out of working-class communities in industrial Belfast. He said that background fostered strong unionist and loyalist participation in the IFA.
“I’d like to see opportunities to grow football on an all-island basis, but to do it in an agreed way through work between the two associations, whilst they retain their traditions and their various competitions,” Martin said, as reported by rte.ie.
Martin pointed to Derry City’s recent FAI Cup victory as evidence that cross-border competition sharpens standards. He also suggested that a new tournament could replace the defunct Setanta Sports Cup.
The Taoiseach attended the final Setanta Cup match in Dundalk in 2014. He said the Government’s Shared Island Unit stands ready to support collaborative initiatives between the two associations.
The Leinster Football Association seceded from the Belfast-based IFA in 1921. The split followed a dispute over scheduling an Irish Cup semi-final in Belfast rather than Dublin, rte.ie reported.
The Setanta Sports Cup was a cross-border association football competition featuring clubs from both the League of Ireland and the NIFL Premiership. The final edition of the tournament took place in Dundalk in 2014, according to rte.ie.
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