Sunday soccer is put back onside

Fans will be able to watch their favourite teams on Sundays.

The ban on Irish League soccer games being played on Sundays is to be removed following a vote by the Irish Football Association.

The move means that the IFA is no longer the only national association within Uefa to have a Sunday ban in place.

The decision was made at a special meeting of the IFA on Wednesday.

IFA members last year voted in favour of ending the Sunday ban but the motion did not have the required 75% majority.

The no Sunday soccer rule was first introduced by the IFA more than 60 years ago.

At the same meeting, a second vote has put almost £5m of government funding for Northern Ireland football in peril.

A proposal calling for a streamlined IFA executive did not receive sufficent support.

In line with a stipulation from the government, IFA officials had attempted to reduce the executive committee of the organisation from 18 members to 10.

The government announced five years ago that it would make £8m of funding available for football in Northern Ireland if certain conditions were met.

One of those conditions included a streamlined IFA executive.

Some £3.2m of the funds have been filtered into local football but the remainder of the money has yet to materialise as a result of a number of difficulties - including internal IFA wrangles.