Let’s kick to touch on 32 county Ireland team
Usually suggested by individuals completely unfamiliar with football (Enda Kenny, for example), the ‘example’ of the Irish rugby team is often patronisingly cited as something for soccer folk to aspire to. This, despite the fact that having a unified rugby team has obviously done little in terms of developing successful and winning teams, with just one Grand Slam for Ireland since 1948 and a continued inability to beat southern hemisphere teams, even when five points up and 30 seconds from full time.
Association Football is still at its core a working man’s game and has a far more tribal following than most other sports. For example, the Northern Ireland football team has been central to the identity of the largely Protestant, working class communities of east Belfast. Has anyone ever asked them for their thoughts on disbanding team NI in favour of a 32-county soccer team?
