Wembley clash with England on the cards for Republic

THE Republic of Ireland look set to be invited to play England at Wembley in 2013 to mark the Football Association’s 150th anniversary, possibly as part of an extended ‘home internationals’ championship.

The FA announced plans to invite Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take part in one-off matches in two years time, partly inspired by the unveiling of Vauxhall, the car manufacturer that is expected to agree sponsorship deals with all four nations, as a new front line sponsor.

However the Irish Examiner has now learned an approach has also been made to the FAI setting up the possibility of a five-team tournament if agreement can be reached between the associations.

It would be the first time the Republic has played at Wembley since 1991 when the teams drew 1-1 in a Euro qualifier, although the teams are also set to meet in an as-yet unconfirmed friendly in Dublin in June.

The FA’s general secretary Alex Horne said: “This idea is at an early stage and still only a concept at the moment but I can confirm we are talking to the Republic of Ireland too.

“It’s one of the things we are looking at to mark our 150th anniversary. We will be the first country to reach that landmark and we want to mark it in the right way. We’ve been thinking about it for six to eight months now.

“It’s early days but I would expect England to play all their matches at Wembley. We’ve got enough international dates between the end of 2012 and the end of 2013 to play the games we want to play so we would hope to get it done inside a year.”

It is not yet clear whether the Republic’s game against the English would be a one-off friendly or part of a formatted tournament complete with league table and trophy at the end of it; and much could depend on the reaction of administrators who have worked hard to set up next month’s Carling Nations Cup which sees Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland play their own tournament at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Horne added: “It’s something we are talking about. The other nations are on the cusp of their own tournament so they need to think about it carefully and what it may do to the longevity of their own tournament. It’s part of the negotiations and conversations that are going on right now.”