Taoiseach Micheál Martin has backed closer co-operation between Ireland’s two football associations, saying there could be scope for an all-island competition to improve standards and widen opportunities for players on both sides of the border.

Speaking ahead of a Fianna Fáil centenary event at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on Tuesday evening, the Irish premier cited Derry City’s cup victory the previous weekend as an example of what competition can offer.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) operates in the Republic, while the Irish Football Association (IFA) operates in Northern Ireland. Derry City already plays within the FAI system, making the club a relevant example of participation across that divide. Martin said the associations could work together to explore initiatives, stressing that development should proceed by agreement.

His argument concerned both football’s competitive standards and its history. He described the game’s development across Ireland as predating partition in 1921 and emphasised its roots in working-class communities.

“Soccer was very working class, strongly supported by working class communities.”

Martin described Belfast as probably the industrial capital at that time, with significant unionist and loyalist participation in football and the IFA. In his account, the sporting divide was not simply a consequence of independence: it either preceded it or developed naturally with the establishment of the FAI.

The event examined the relationship between sport and politics in Ireland. Three Fianna Fáil figures have served as FAI presidents: former Belfast Celtic goalkeeper Oscar Traynor, Donogh O’Malley and Neil T Blaney.

Martin’s comments express support for exploring a shared competition, rather than announce an agreed structure. The practical distinction is important: Derry’s participation demonstrates an existing cross-border connection, while any wider initiative would depend on agreement between the two associations.