IFA want answers on player exodus

The Irish Football Association are raising the matter of player eligibility with the Court of Arbitration for Sport after another talented youngster turned his back on Northern Ireland.

Everton defender Shane Duffy, 18, was this week named in the squad to face Albania in a friendly on Wednesday, only to state he would prefer to play for the Republic of Ireland instead.
That is a path also taken by Manchester United's Darron Gibson and Portsmouth's Marc Wilson among others.

Like Duffy they played for Northern Ireland age group teams before deciding their international future lay in Dublin, not Belfast.

The IFA have become increasingly infuriated that, after investing time and money in young players, they can just walk away.

They feel FIFA could be more helpful and have therefore turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

A statement from the IFA read: ‘We do not take this course of action lightly but, in light of recent events and potential future issues, it believes it has no other choice regarding the resolution of player eligibility.

‘The decision is taken purely on the grounds of upholding the FIFA statues of article 15 and 16 and that the current situation that exists puts the IFA at a clear disadvantage over all other 206 associations.

‘The association has worked hard on its 'Football for All' programme being at the heart of everything we do.

‘We spend a substantial amount of money on grassroots and youth international programmes and this must be protected for the good of football in Northern Ireland.’