As the Irish Independent reports, the forthcoming play-offs represent the first test case of Uefa’s opposition to Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s controversial idea. Ireland are due to play the first of two play-off semi-final ties against Kazakhstan in October, before a final contest against either Belgium or Poland at the end of the year.

Uefa said its position would not change until the plan was scrapped, The Journal reported, adding: “Some things are simply too important to sell. The Fifa World Cup belongs to football.” The row centres on Fifa’s proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which the world governing body says it would own and control while selling minority stakes to private investors.