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Stephen Kenny’s son Eoin has been named in the latest Northern Ireland U18 squad, in a bizarre turn of events.
Eoin will line out for a different national team to the one that his dad manages for an upcoming friendly against Manchester United.
As pointed out by Stephen Finn, Eoin Kenny is a talented youngster, having appeared for Dundalk’s underage sides on a number of occasions. He is an attacking midfielder, who is of course also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland.
It is unclear whether or not Kenny has opted to play for Northern Ireland ahead of the Republic by choice, or whether he is simply yet to receive an international call-up for his own country, though one would assume it is the latter.
Sunday | Manages Ireland to a 3-0 win over Luxembourg
Tuesday | Watches his two sons, Eoin & Fionn Kenny play for @maristdundalk in a 1-0 win over the De La Salle in the North West Leinster League
A great few days for @FAIreland manager Stephen Kenny | #SupportGrassroots pic.twitter.com/RZT2h80DM9
— FAI Grassroots (@FAIGrassroots) November 17, 2021
While the situation itself is already quite fascinating, it will become even more of a grey area if young Kenny lights the world up in his underage international debut.
He will then face a potential decision of sticking with the team he had been playing with, or playing for his own country under his father.
Other footballers in the past have played for Northern Ireland at youth level before making the move to the Republic, including Shane Duffy and Eunan O’Kane.
The entire situation is definitely something that Kenny will be asked about in the near future, and no doubt the Irish boss will have a diplomatic answer.
The Northern Ireland in question squad bridges the gap between Northern Ireland’s U19 and U17 teams – and mainly consists of players who have previously represented Northern Ireland at U17 level.
Kenny is one of the few exceptions, and Irish football fans will now likely be keeping an eye on the friendlies against the Man United U18 side. More info here.
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Stephen Kenny’s son makes Northern Ireland U18 squad – Pundit Arena
