By Johnny Morton
The proposal, which included that Irish League clubs are able to opt in or out via their participation agreement, was passed by a 76% majority and could pave the way for more matches to be held on a Sunday. Sunday football in Northern Ireland has been a controversial topic for many years, but it has become more common in recent times with the last four BetMcLean Cup finals all held on a Sunday 鈥 NIFL set a new attendance record last season when 14,539 supporters watched Cliftonville鈥檚 victory over Glentoran at Windsor Park. Five Premiership matches were broadcast live on a Sunday last term alongside the European play-off final while Larne鈥檚 historic run to the Conference League resulted in them playing a number of fixtures on Sunday. This season鈥檚 VBET Women’s League Cup final was staged on Sunday and Lawlor feels it鈥檚 important football in Northern Ireland continues to evolve in a competitive market. “The NIFL Board holds firm in its belief that being professional is more than a label, it is a standard we must reach and uphold in every sense,鈥 said Lawlor. “The landscape of professional football is changing rapidly throughout the world, and Northern Ireland must evolve with it, or risk being left behind. 鈥淲e are pleased with the outcome and look forward to further engagement and implementation with our member clubs.鈥 The approved proposal comes two years after NIFL鈥檚 attempted amendment to the Irish FA rules, which state “no match shall be played within Northern Ireland on a Sunday unless the two participating clubs and competition organisers agree to do so”, to include 鈥渟hall not apply to matches played under the auspices” of the governing body was rejected. Speaking to the News Letter last month, Lawlor insisted nobody would be forced to play on a Sunday as NIFL explored opportunities. “We’re never going to become a Sunday league, we are never going to play loads of matches on Sundays, but I think at certain times of the year some of our clubs have requested to us they would like to explore that further,鈥 he said. “I think I’m well versed in saying we’re a very condensed market at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and we need to explore other opportunities, be that Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. “The Sunday allows some of those other opportunities to develop so this is not about ‘let’s all play matches on a Sunday’. It’s about the wider part of the strategy which says we’ll explore other matchday opportunities. “At the moment we have a hurdle in our way we need to replace and need to move forward because we feel there’s an appetite for it. “There is an appetite from the senior clubs and the proposal we’ve put forward this year is that senior clubs should be allowed to deliver their own destiny and come on that journey. “What we’re saying to the rest of the game is it’s not my job or NIFL’s job to get involved in the business of other leagues, on this one we’re saying for those who have concerns about people being forced to do things, we have removed that and we’re asking to allow this to come into the game. “We can’t be professional in name only, we have to be professional in our actions. For me it’s really a plea to the rest of the game of let us make our decisions the way we allow you to make your own decisions and don’t get involved in your game.”