As the original ‘home’ of football (although apparently Sepp Blater thinks it started in China) the UK has four national associations represented in Fifa. Until 1984 this was marked by a series of home internationals between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As the original ‘home’ of football (although apparently Sepp Blater thinks it started in China) the UK has four national associations represented in Fifa. Until 1984 this was marked by a series of home internationals between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As a result of the new agreement between the FA and Vauxhall, it looks likely that they will return in 2013, but only for one year to celebrate the FA’s 150th anniversary. They were originally dropped in part because of crowd trouble (especially at matches between England and Scotland at Wembley) and in part because of concerns about fixture congestion.
Aside from the England v. Scotland fixture, crowds were sometimes low. Wales v. Northern Ireland on a wet Wednesday in Wrexham was not always a big draw. There is some talk of involving the Republic of Ireland, which would add interest, but is probably too hot a potato given that Ireland has one rugby team but two teams in football.