Northern Ireland (National Football)

In Croke Park tomorrow, Kilkenny will take on Waterford, in what is perhaps the most important fixture in the world.

For those who don't know what hurling is, and let's face it, that's just about everybody who's not Irish, hurling is the fastest field sport in the world. It's faster than soccer, faster than rugby, and even faster than ice hockey.

Kilkenny, the reigning champions, will take on Waterford in the All-Ireland Hurling Final in Croke Park, where 83,000 fans will pack themselves in to see one of the greatest sporting spectacles the world has seen this or any other year.

Hurling, to the un-initiated, is the national sport of Ireland. It has been played in Ireland for around 2,000 years. But it wasn't until 1884 that the GAA formed and created an All-Ireland competition.

The sides have 15 men, including a goalkeeper. The pitch measures out at around 150m long and 100m wide. There are goals at either end, which resemble rugby posts. And you get three point for scoring a goal and one point for scoring above the goal.

What marks Hurling out from other sports is that it is played with a stick called a Hurley (caman in Irish, pronounced kam-aun) the ball that it's played with is roughly the size of a tennis ball, but is as hard as a hockey puck, this ball is called a sliotar (pronounced shh-litter). So the players need protection, in the form of helmets.

Another factor that makes Hurling so special are the players. The players are amateur. The GAA is an amateur organisation, even though the players regularly play in front of crowds from 5,000 to 85,000.

The sight of a hurling player in full flight is a joy to behold, and seeing him as he solos the sliotar before putting it over the bar is something that every fan of any sport should see at least once.

To solo the sliotar, the player must balance the ball on the large part of the hurl whilst running at full pace. Baring in mind that the players usually run the 100m in around 12 seconds, doing this with the hurl while balancing the sliotar is no mean feat.

Check out the sport in all its majestic glory.

Tomorrow, Kilkenny are striving for a third title in a row. They would be regarded as the home of hurling, but they haven't won three in a row since 1911. And they are unbeaten in the Championship in three years. They find themselves rock solid favourites at 3/10.

Waterford, on the other hand, go into this match after a poor start to the season, which saw new manager Davy Fitz take over only 10 games ago. Waterford have not won the Hurling Championship in 49 years and find themselves as underdogs at 3/1.

Everything points to Kilkenny winning, and it's easy to see why, but winning three in a row is notoriously hard, and if there is a team capable of stopping an unstoppable Kilkenny, it could be Waterford.

This is more proof that Italy is not the only nation on earth where fans get attacked.

Two fans of the Northern Ireland national team were attacked in Bratislava ahead of their team's qualifier there on Saturday. The gentlemen were attacked by a group of 12 men, it has been reported.

It has also been speculated that their attackers were from a security firm. More police brutality against fans, just like during the Champions League.

This makes me wonder: If UEFA is considering pulling the Champions League Final from Roma if they start trouble this year, would FIFA start to pull teams from qualifying matches if their fans began to injure the visiting fans.

I don't think that FIFA would do so, nor do I think it would work. However, I think it would be a wake-up call to some of these countries where violence reigns supreme and the local authorities are in on it.

If your fans are caught in a violent fight with individuals from another nation, then your team forfeits the result from the game. It would make some of these hooligans stop and think.

It would be a small incentive at best, but if nations started to get kicked out when there was a chance that their team may do well, then the governments will get more involved with the issue.

As we have seen in countries like the Ivory Coast, simply qualifying for the World Cup has brought together groups of people for one common goal. Imagine if your team went out of qualifying because a group of fans wanted to rough up the visiting fans. The local officials would likely crack down on the "this is our house" policy that the fans have.

Could this be one of the baby steps toward slowing down the rate of violence that occurs in football? Possibly. Is it likely to ever be brought up at a meeting of FIFA? Derby have a better chance of winning the Premiership. However, it was a thought that was running through my head, and I thought I would share.

Once upon a time, back when football was a sport, Britain's national teams used to play each other regularly.

These games were affectionately known as "home internationals," with the biggest clash being Scotland against England.

Now, after nearly 20 years, intra-UK matches are set for a return.

Officials from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are in talks over a proposed "Celtic Cup."

England, unfortunately, have turned down the chance to be involved.

The English FA's refusal to enter talks is a selfish act that will disappoint millions of English football fans. The chance to take on the "Auld Enemy" is always eagerly anticipated both in England and Scotland, and will remain sadly missed.

England aside, there are plenty of positives in this story. The chance for the Celtic nations to play competitive matches against one another—while all the other teams in the world are having friendly kick-abouts—could be of great importance.

Imagine, for example, the Celtic Cup Final: 52,000 at Hampden Park in Glasgow watching Scotland play Wales for the trophy, with two sets of fans passionately urging their countries on.

Then stop and compare it to any friendly match you've watched recently. It's not even close.

I also believe the home internationals will be a boon for ticket sales (generally poor for friendlies) and television ratings, as entire nations of football-loving fans tune in to follow their sides.

As a Scot who adores his country, I'm really excited by the prospect of the Celtic Cup—and look forward to that great day at Hampden.