Joe Kinnear, the Wimbledon manager, said yesterday that the club's plans to relocate to Belfast in the immediate future had been abandoned.

"The backers were there, everything was in place but Sam Hamman, our chairman, considered that it wasn't the right time for the move," said Kinnear.

At the start of the season, club officials visited Belfast and in addition to courting the goodwill of the Irish Football Association, spoke with representatives of several clubs.

Like the FAI, who had come out strongly against earlier moves to have the club based in Dublin, senior IFA officials were quick to pour cold water on the project.

"It was a non-runner from the start and we made our views on the matter known in no uncertain manner," said one official.

"Our remit is to foster and develop the game in Ireland and allowing English club football to be played here was not compatible with that objective."

Belgian and Dutch authorities yesterday approved ticket sale plans for the 2000 European championship finals and said they could avoid the problems of the World Cup.