Blackburn Rovers defender Tony Kane has committed his international future to Northern Ireland.
Blackburn defender chooses country of his birth
Blackburn Rovers defender Tony Kane has committed his international future to Northern Ireland.
Kane had looked set to choose Republic of Ireland after an administrative mistake by the Irish Football Association, the governing body of Northern Ireland.
The error occurred last year when he was selected for the Northern Ireland Under 21 squad but had to drop out because the IFA had not registered him to play.
The 20-year-old, who was born in Belfast but holds a passport that makes him eligible for Republic of Ireland, admits he was ready to abandon the country of his birth at that stage.
"I thought that was an absolute joke and I was left wondering if they really wanted me to play for Northern Ireland," he recalled in The Times.
"When I was offered the chance to play for the Republic it felt good to be wanted and for me it was the right decision at the time because I didn't feel that Northern Ireland wanted me."
Effort
However, Kane has now been persuaded by new Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington to change his mind.
Worthington called Kane a number of times to convince him to be part of his squad for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Latvia and Iceland.
"It was nice to have the Northern Ireland manager make that effort," he explained.
"I am committed to the country now."
