Final chance for England

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Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are close to agreeing a 'Celtic Cup' competition with the Republic of Ireland taking part instead of England. Irish FA president Jim Boyce said England would be asked to take part but he was aware there was little enthusiasm for the move at the FA.

Boyce told PA Sport: "It is at a very advanced stage and we are very hopeful it will go ahead. I personally would love England to come into it as well and they will be invited to do so again but if not then we will press ahead with the Celtic Cup idea."

He added: "It would be a shame if England will not resurrect the old British championship - all we are asking for is two friendly dates every two years, it's not an awful lot to ask for."

The revived home internationals would be held every two years from 2009 with a draw for two matches to take place on the August international date, and a final and third-place play-off on the November friendly date.

The FA are very unlikely to respond positively to the invitation - it is understood they are more keen to keep the friendly dates open to play a variety of major European and non-European nations.

Boyce said the new tournament would have its own sponsors and television rights revenue.

He added: "You can see from the success of the World Cup qualifiers involving England, Northern Ireland and Wales how attractive this competition would be."

The Scottish FA, the FA of Wales and the two Irish associations are all understood to be keen on the idea.

"Things are provisional, but if we could pull this off, the interest would be enormous," David Collins, the secretary of the FAW, told the Scotsman. "For the fans, the TV companies and potential sponsors, a Celtic Cup tournament would be huge. And for the managers of the respective teams it would be an opportunity to look at players in competitive friendlies."