As non-events go, this has to be right down there with the Azerbaijani National Tug-of-War Championship
...to all Azerbaijani Tug of Warists
And, following recent developments, I can only hope the IFA suddenly develop a pair and tell specifically the FAI where exactly they can stick, not only this joke of a tournament, but also their Setanta Cup.
3 comments:
I hope the IFA will stop trying to to dictate to Irish citizens who they play for.
On topic, I think the negative reaction in the English press is simply snobbery, ie if England doesn't play it doesn't matter. I'd much prefer games that might have a competitive edge to them than friendlies that are meaningless to both sides. And not every friendly is against a glamour team. Most aren't for the smaller nations.
Attendance figures form 20 years ago are also misleading: football has widened it's appeal since then. FFS, the Republic got 30,000 for a friendly against Canada in 2003.
So, I am happy to wait and see and hope for the best. I suspect if you win it your view might change!
Yes, possibly,always happy to see another(!) trophy paraded around, but speaking personally I'd much rather have the chance to see new players and teams, even if it is in a non-competitive setting. Re the crowds and general interest, I suspect that a bit like the Setanta, the first tournament would do quite well in that regard. But a bit like the Setanta, the novelty would soon wear off and we would end up with the international equivalent of whatever the league Cup is called these days.
Rugby does alright with it. And as I said, even cack teams pull in decent friendly crowds these days. I think interest will come down to the closeness of the tournament.
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