INTERNATIONAL NEWS:THE REPUBLIC of Ireland look set to be involved in a revived "Home Nations" tournament being planned by the English FA and backed by their new sponsors, the Vauxhall brand of car manufacturer General Motors.
Talks are still at a preliminary stage, but the English, who originally turned down an invitation to participate in what has since developed into the Nations Cup, are believed to be enthusiastic now about organising the five-team event in, most likely, 2013.
The format has yet to be agreed, with the associations apparently undecided whether the event would take place in a short period of time or over the course of a calendar year or season.
It is not clear either whether each nation would host a number of games or all travel to a single territory for the event.
But neither issue is thought to be a significant barrier to staging the event.
The original “Home Nations” tournament was abandoned in 1984, largely due to the desire of the English to make greater use of the commercial opportunities available to it through the prominence of its team.
Should the event be restored, it would dramatically boost the Nations Cup, which is due to kick-off for the first time next month at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where all six games this year are due to be staged.
That event was never intended to be run next year and, in reality, its future has always depended to a large extent on the success of the inaugural event.
The English had ruled out any involvement in anything similar in 2012 due to their anticipated participation in the European Championships, as well as the workload involved in the Olympics later in the summer.
They are now keen to stage the five-team event the following year, with at least part of it being hosted by them.
And, it seems, they are open to the idea it might become a regular event thereafter, depending on how the initial tournament fares.
Vauxhall are reported to be particularly supportive of the idea and would have been happy had it been up and running through the 2011/12 season.
The FAI will be keen on even the possibility of getting to play potentially lucrative games against the English on as regular a basis as possible.
The prospect of a tournament in a couple of years will not, however, affect their hopes of playing England in a friendly in Dublin at some stage in 2012.
Talks regarding this proposal are continuing and the FAI is hoping to tie down a deal for the game soon.
England have confirmed they will play a friendly this March against Ghana, while, as expected, their proposed visit to Thailand in June, which had been closely tied up with the unsuccessful World Cup bid, has been cancelled.
