Doomed plan to create Premier League team ‘Belfast United’ detailed in files

State papers: Tony Blair wanted Wimbledon FC to move to Northern Ireland but senior civil servant warned it could be ‘another focus for sectarianism’

Linfield’s home ground, Windsor Park, in the heart of unionist south Belfast, was the venue for a notorious World Cup qualification game between Northern Ireland and the Republic in November 1993. Photograph: David Maher/Sportsfile
Linfield’s home ground, Windsor Park, in the heart of unionist south Belfast, was the venue for a notorious World Cup qualification game between Northern Ireland and the Republic in November 1993. Photograph: David Maher/Sportsfile

Seanín Graham

Seanín Graham

Seanín Graham is Northern Correspondent of The Irish Times