The FA’s New Sponser Leads Talks To Bring Back Home International Tournament

The FA on Wednesday will announce a new lucrative deal with British car manufacturer Vauxhall who has also agreed sponsorship deals with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. While all four home nations will be linked with the deal, Vauxhall themselves are driving talks over arousing the home international tournament that was last played in 1984. Founded in 1884, the now disbanded competition (mostly) enjoyed a 100 year reign, produced some memorable moments and was the highlight of many a football fan’s year.

Talks between the four home nations are underway with a likely outcome of some form of ‘one off matches’ being played yet talks concerning a major-ish tournament happening over the course of some seven months and three international windows from November 2012 to June 2013 have also been rumored.

The deal reached between Vauxhall and the FA is reportedly worth £20M while the other three nations will split around the same amount between them. With £ signs glistening in their eyes, it seems as if the suits at Vauxhall would love nothing more than an awakening of sorts as it pertains to the defunct British championships.

As visions of Vauxhall Home Nations Tournament 2012 or British Championships Presented by Vauxhall fondly dance in the heads of the execs, the practicality of the tournament itself remains about as realistic as inviting Scotland’s Celtic and Rangers to play in the Premier League - a grand idea on paper, to some, that involved more logistical nightmares, muddled thinking and delusions of grandeur-esque behavior from those proposing the move.

With an already crowded fixture list in the domestic league, the absence of a winter break, and the myriad of meaningless friendlies most international teams already play, opponents of another home nations tournament have plenty of ammo to blast off into the sky over Wembley. Still, with money comes great power and the FA, in all of their wisdom and sense (blight), shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to the opportunity to make a few quid.

Leading Telegraph journalist Henry Winter even went so far as to compare the return off the once lauded tournament to the return of England’s dark ages when hooliganism ran rampant on the terraces across Old Blighty.

“The plan is so misguided it is tempting to check whether some mischievous time lord has landed at the FA and that today’s date is actually April 1. English football needs the return of the Home Internationals as much as it needs the return of hooliganism”.

Winter went on to wax poetic concerning England’s chances at Euro 2012 when they’ve spent time dealing with the not-so-international powerhouses the likes of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland while the Spains, Brazils, Germanys and Argentinas of the world continue to pass England off the pitch. Winter’s message simply stated: the way forward for England is on the continent of Europe and not in the United Kingdom, regardless of how much romance is involved.

In the FA’s defense, however, the powers that be have been circumspect in years past when deciding on whether or not to rekindled the tournament of days gone by because of an already crowded fixture list, both internationally and domestically. So although the exact format football fans knew in the 70’s and 80’s won’t likely be used, according to an FA source, something close to it could be:

“The tournament under discussion would not necessarily be played out along exactly the same lines as before, but it’s possible something could well be done. Indeed, while it is unlikely to take place before Euro 2012, it could potentially coincide with the FA’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2013”.

While expats and Anglophiles in the States either cringe or jump with delight concerning the possibilities, it seems as if the rest of those interested remain 50/50 as well. With an already insane number of games being played by England’s best footballers in the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, a further few in a run-out against neighbors seems a bridge too far to cross, especially if England wish to progress as a footballing nation on the international stage.