Northern Ireland 2125?

There's a lot there. Doesn't really matter if the UK should or should not have 4 teams. They still do, ans will continue to. Andorra or the Faroes will never qualify for anything but it still means the world to them that they have their ethnicity represented on the national stage.

I dont want to impose my type of Irishness on PUL community. I want to find ways they can be comfortable as their type of British/Irish/Northern Irish hybrid under a Dublin government in a Unified Ireland.

If two national teams achieved that in some way thats great. As I also said I would be hopeful in time the teams may merge and represent both communities.

But why not just be open to ideas that can make unification more likely to actually happen. That should be the goal, the target and whatever can make that more achievable. Lets go for it.

UEFA and FIFA already recognise 4 teams from one country next door to us. So that argument is reductive.

No one forces any nationalist in NI right now to play for the Northern Ireland team. Every person born on this island by birthright are eligible to play for the FAI team. All they need is a passport. Why would you think that would change under a Unified Ireland.

Ideologically I agree with you, one team would be great. But there are significant factors that stop that from happening..

I take the rugby comparison, I love that we have one team. I hope other sports follow suit and we integrate more and more and more.

I just fundamently dont agree with disbanding the NI team alongside unification. Let it happen over time fluidly if it ever happens at all.

I hope it does but I am ok if it doesnt.

Scotland is not a country, nor is England/Wales. They have national teams that represent ethnicities and regions within a single country, The UK. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. They have their own national team. What country is Hong Kong in? Why do they have a national team?

FIFA can say what they like, the precedent has long been set.

Scotland is a country as is England and Wales that cede sovereignty to a Union.
For FIFA/UEFA purposes they are individual countries.

Hong Kong is a SAR (Special Autonomous Region) and Puerto Rico is viewed as independent from the US by the IOC and I presume FIFA.

FIFA originally split the teams in the 1950's to prevent anomalies of a player playing for both Irish teams. 4 players actually played for both teams in the same competition. FIFA decreed that the border would separate the teams.
In a UI how do you prevent that from happening with no border and no entity called NI? Force people to recognise a border again?

Unworkable can-kicking. Sort it out at the beginning.

No.
I am just super-informed of where can-kicking or ignoring problems and trying to appease your way around them, gets you to on this island - bigger more intractable issues.

The GFA was intended as a process. That process was stagnated by foot dragging, blocking and not accepting the wishes of a majority in the assembly and executive. That caused a lot of bigger issues.

Not tackling issues in a UI because some might be offended and kicking them down the road to appease will just make the issues bigger and harder to deal with.

Scotland is a non-sovereign country. It doesn’t have a seat at the UN, can’t sign international treaties or wage war. At least it has its own parliament and First Minister unlike England. It’s like Texas or Quebec, a province or part of a sovereign country, more like Quebec really, at least in its aspirations. The term state is a confusing one in English, referring to both countries and subdivisions of same.

The UK having multiple soccer teams is anachronistic nonsense. The results speak for themselves. It might have been a good idea if the UK utterly dominated soccer competitions but that hasn’t been a problem for a very long time.

The people out of touch are the soccer/football dinosaurs of NI who can’t see the success of all-Ireland teams in other sports and would rather lose for eternity than throw their lot in with the rest of the island. I don’t like sailing in puddles of the past but it’s undeniable that NI soccer had a distinctly anti-Catholic hue for too long, an extension of the Glasgow Rangers mentality.

Armagh, Tyrone etc all combine if there are international games against Aussie football teams.

We have been through the everybody loves us euphoria phase, it fades.

Given an option supporters and players will opt for an Irish team with the best chance on the international stage. Convinced of that, the proof of what can be achieved is the rugby team even if it has a few bitter detractors.

Why would you want to do that?