Kick-off time confirmed for England v NI World Cup qualifier

The kick-off time for Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifying fixture against England at Old Trafford in March has been confirmed.

The game, the first between the two sides in nearly 20 years, will kick-off at the original time of 3pm on Saturday March 26 despite requests from broadcasters and the Football League for the game to kick-off later in the day.

Following lengthy discussions with Manchester police the English FA said it had decided to stick with an afternoon start.

The move has been welcomed by thousands of Northern Ireland fans who had booked flights for later in the evening in order to travel to Poland for Northern Ireland’s next game the following Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of the Irish Football Association (IFA) has agreed to donate at least £20,000 from the gate receipts of Northern Ireland’s next game against Canada at Windsor Park next month to the Tsunami Appeal Fund.

Irish FA Chief Executive Howard Wells said he was delighted to announce the donation. “Everyone around the world is doing as much as they can to help this appeal,” Mr Wells said. “The Irish FA is endeavouring to follow suit and we hope that this will encourage an even greater contribution from the people of Northern Ireland".

Jim Boyce, President of the IFA, added: "I know everyone in the province has been deeply touched by this terrible tragedy and I am delighted that the Irish FA are able to contribute in some small manner to help the people of Asia rebuild their lives."

Next month’s friendly against Canada takes place on February 9 and is Lawrie Sanchez’s last game before March’s double header against England and Poland.

(MB/SP)