Separate group for Northern boxers ‘will increase sectarianism’

The setting up of a separate body for boxers in Northern Ireland will only heighten religious divisions and threaten to split the sport for generations, a new report has claimed.

However, a plan should be considered which under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement would allow Northern boxers to declare for Team GB rather than Ireland at elite level, such as at the Olympic Games, according to an independent working group which examined allegations of sectarianism and racism outside the ring.

It followed complaints last year by Sandy Row Amateur Boxing Club in south Belfast.