An appeal was launched today for half a million pounds, needed to save a humble field which spawned soccer's most dramatic act - the penalty kick.
Residents of a tiny Co Armagh village have urged football authorities to intervene in a bid to halt the treasured plot falling foul of an upmarket housing project.
Developers have indicated they would consider building elsewhere if their investment, worth up to £500,000 on the property market, was recouped.
But Millford Community Association chairman Mr Joe McManus said a small village of 500 people could not raise the money without backing.
He called on the FIFA, the English FA or the Irish Football Association to provide the money needed to rescue the field where the world’s first penalty was taken more than 100 years ago.
Millford residents are also seeking a permanent monument to Mr William McCrum, the man who came up with the idea. Son of the village's founder and goalkeeper for Millford Football Club, his "penalty" first came into play during a match in 1890.
FIFA has officially recognised the field's significance.
But an application to build nine new town houses on the field is on the verge of being rubberstamped by Armagh council later this month.
Football authorities were sympathetic but insisted their hands were tied until they are formally lobbied.
A FIFA spokesman said Millford residents should contact the body directly. while the FA claimed it was a matter for the Irish Football Association to champion.
An IFA spokesman meanwhile said the group should write formally to the association. He said: "The IFA would obviously be concerned about the hopes of a small community who want to protect something which played such a significant part in the evolution of football."
PA