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Hunt: Ireland's return could damage morale

SETANTA SPORTS

Published Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 9:30 AM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:44 PM

Read more: Stephen Ireland, Stephen Hunt

Republic of Ireland's Stephen Hunt holds off Italy's Simone Pepe during the World Cup Qualifying match at the Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy.

Photo by PA Wire/PA Photos

Stephen Hunt feels that the return of Stephen Ireland to the international fold could spell disaster for unity within the Ireland squad.

While admitting that Ireland has been the outstanding Irish player in the Premier League over the last 12 months, Reading winger Hunt says that his return would only serve to anger those that have worked hard to get the country to next year's World Cup Finals in South Africa.

"You might say it will help the camp but might hinder the camp too," said Hunt.

"If he comes back, he would be a good player to have and might get us that extra step to the World Cup.

"But if you tell someone who has been waiting for a chance that he is not going to the World Cup because he has come back in late doors, you might have a few players upset about it - especially at this stage of the campaign. That's fair enough, I think.

"I don't think he'll come back. We're probably better off forgetting about it until the campaign is finished. If Stephen Ireland did come back, then it would be a bonus for the team and everything else would have to work around it.

"But if was to come back now," added the 27-year-old, "it would come with extra media on the team at a time when it's vitally important we stay focused on qualifying for the World Cup. Stephen Ireland hasn't said much. It's more quotes coming from his dad. It's time to let it go."

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Because IrishCentral.com has a global audience, we feel the need to try as best we can to explain football. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. Football is played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of football is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition. The modern game, now often simply known as football, was codified in England following the formation of The Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Irish football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most-prestigious international football competition is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympic Games. The laws of the game are currently determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886 after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup, which has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match took place in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow. England is home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888. The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England. FIFA was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913. The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations. Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favorite teams, while billions more watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football. Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity.

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