Rooney is hoping to draw ‘major power’ in World Cup qualifiers

CHIEF executive of the FAI Fran Rooney was in no doubt as to which teams he would like to see in Ireland’s group when the draw for the qualifying tournament of World Cup 2006 is made tomorrow in Frankfurt.

"A good group for us and for our fans would be England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and ourselves. But, to be serious, it would be desirable that we drew a major power; a big team would enhance our TV revenue and be good for our sponsors," he said.

Ireland go into the draw with 50 other European nations in the second group of seeds. The Republic were amongst the top seeds for the current European Championship but a failure to qualify led to relegation.