Italians may finally opt to stage Ireland qualifier in Rome

ROME, TURIN or Milan, and in that order of preference. Irish fans may find it hard to believe, but the Italian Football Federation are still a long way from deciding where the Republic of Ireland's vital away World Cup Group Eight qualifier against Italy on April 1st will be played.

In the absence of any official confirmation, all options are on the table, even if logic and precedent would suggest the final choice will be one of the big three.

Senior federation spokesman Antonello Valentini last night told The Irish Timesthat it was "much, much too early" for any decision to be made, pointing out that Fifa requires national associations to communicate the site of World Cup qualifiers only 90 days before the game.

In other words, the federation have until the end of December to decide on the Republic of Ireland game.

For the time being, one can only follow the logic of previous federation decisions. Where there is a guaranteed strong away fan following, as seems sure in the case of the Irish supporters, then the federation tends to opt for one of the country's bigger stadiums - for obvious reasons linked to both capacity and security. It is one thing to play the Faroe Isles in Modena, as Italy did in their Euro 2008 qualifying group, but quite another to play a team there that may come supported by 5,000-10,000 fans.

Insiders last night suggested that, even if cities like Bari, Florence, Genoa, Naples and Palermo can all provide worthy World Cup venues, the federation may still feel "safer" opting for Rome, Turin or Milan, all cities which present no serious infra-structural problems when it comes to issues such as airports, local transport and hotels.

If that proves to be the case, then the final choice could be between Rome and Turin.

Partly for reasons of precedent, the federation tend to keep Milan's Meazza stadium at San Siro up their sleeve for an all-important, final home qualifier, perhaps against Bulgaria next September. In modern times, Italy have proved unbeatable at the San Siro, nearly always winning there.

The federation may well then opt to hold the San Siro in reserve. This would make it a choice between the two Olimpicos, the one in Rome, where AS Roma and Lazio play, or the one in Turin (the old Stadio Communale, revamped for the 2006 Winter Olympics), where Juventus and Torino play.

The fact that Italy last played in Turin as far back as November 2000, when a goal from AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso saw them beat England 1-0 in a friendly, would argue strongly for Turin.

Yet that game was played at the 1990-built Stadio Delle Alpi, currently under reconstruction by Juventus. Italy have yet to play an international at the new Turin Olimpico, which has just a 25,000 capacity. It may be that the federation will opt for the safety of the much bigger Rome Olimpico, with tis 75,000 capacity.

Italy last played at the Rome Olimpico in October two years ago when goals from defender Massimo Oddo and striker Luca Toni saw them beat Ukraine 2-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. The federation may well feel that a two-year break is long enough to permit them to return to Rome.