Shekaru talatin kafin kulob din Premier League su fara cika filayen wasan kwallo akai-akai daga Dublin zuwa Doha, ƙaramin rukuni na 'yan kasuwa 'yan Ayreland sun yi kusa da sanya hannu kan kwantiragin da zai sa kulob ɗin Ingilishi na Firimiye Lig ya zama mazaunin dindindin a babban birnin Ayreland. Shirin ya yi ɗorewa — amma waɗanda suka fara shi suna ƙarfafa cewa da ya yi nasara.

Filin wasa ba tare da kulob ba, kulob ba tare da filin wasa ba

Labarin ya fara ne da rahoton jarida game da alaƙar da ta lalace tsakanin shugaban Wimbledon Sam Hammam da Majalisar Merton. Kulob ɗin ya kasance yana raba filin wasan Selhurst Park da Crystal Palace tun 1991, wani tsari da bai gamsar da kowa ba — musamman 'yan wasan Wimbledon, waɗanda suka sha fama da ƙiyayya mai yawa daga magoya bayan Palace.

"Kullum muna samun zagi daga magoya bayan Palace da suke kiranmu masu kutse," in ji Kenny Cunningham, difandan da aka haife shi Dublin wanda ya shiga daga Millwall a 1994. "Ba a nuna mana mutunci ba."

Duk da wannan halin rashin kwanciyar hankali a gida, Wimbledon — ƙarƙashin jagorancin tsohuwar ƙwallon ƙafar kasa ta Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear — sun kasance ƙarfi na gaske a cikin gasar, suka ƙare shida a kakar 1993–94.

Ƙungiyar Ayreland ta kafa

Tommy Higgins, babban jami'i na Ticketmaster Ireland, ya karanta labarin matsalar Hammam ya gane mafita: mai gini Owen O'Callaghan yana da izinin gina wani filin wasa da kujeji 40,000 a kusa da Dublin. Abin da aikin ke buƙata kawai shi ne mai haya na farko.

Bayan taron farko da bai yi nasara ba, wata haɗuwa ta dama a kan titi a Dublin ta canza komai. Higgins da ɗan kasuwa Maurice Cassidy sun haɗu da mai sharhin talabijin Eamon Dunphy da Paul McGuinness — manajan ƙungiyar kiɗa U2 — aka kafa babbar ƙungiyar haɗin gwiwa a can take.

Ƙungiyar ta shirya tayin £6m don kashi 74 cikin ɗari na Wimbledon, kuma suna can Selhurst Park a ranar farko ta kakar 1996–97 — wannan ranar da David Beckham ya yi lob ɗin wasanni sama da mai tsaron ƙofar Neil Sullivan daga layin tsakiyar filin, ɗaya daga cikin al'amuran da aka fi sake watsa su a tarihin Premier League.

"Idan ka sake dawo da shi a hankali zuwa lokacin da Beckham ya harba, za ka iya ganina a gefan hagu mai nisa na hoto," in ji Cunningham. "Wannan burin, yadda ya fito a fagen wasa — shi ne Premier League a hanyarta ta yau da kullum."

Magoya baya da hukumomi sun ƙi

Labarin ya yadu da sauri, kuma martanin magoya bayan Wimbledon ya kasance mai zafi sosai. Magini kwarai Ivor Heller, wanda ya biyo kulob ɗin tun daga kwanakin gasar amateurs a cikin shekarun 1970, ya yi allunan nunawa na Selhurst Park da suka bayyana a fili ra'ayin jama'a: Dublin = Death.

"Na ƙi shi. Na yi tunanin yana da wauta ƙwarai," in ji Heller. "Daga mahangar kasuwanci, na ga ma'anarsa — magoya bayan Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham duk za su so wasan ƙetare Dublin. Amma a gare ni, ta kasance mafarki mara daɗi. Wimbledon a Dublin ba zai taba zama Wimbledon na gaske ba."

Football Association of Ireland ta raba wannan damuwa, ko da yake saboda dalilai daban-daban. Jami'ai sun ji tsoron cewa kulob ɗin Premier League da ke zaune a Dublin zai hallakar da gasar gida, yana ja taron jama'a, masu daukar nauyi, da kudaden hakkoki na watsa shirye-shirye.

Higgins, yanzu shugaban Sligo Rovers, har yanzu yana da yakinin cewa wannan ra'ayi ya kasance da gajeren gani. "Ra'ayin ya kasance mai ƙarfi ƙwarai, ƙwarai," in ji shi. "Bayan Italia '90 da USA '94, da ka samu ƙungiyar da ta yi kama da ta ƙasa tana buga Dublin kowane makonni biyu. Ina yin imani da cewa da ya canza ƙwallon ƙafar a tsibirin, amma sun kasance suna duba ta cikin bututu mai ƙanƙanta ƙwarai."

Sadarwa ta tsaya

Bayan wata 18 na shawarwari, Hammam ya daina sadarwa. Kiran tarho bai samu amsa ba, wasiƙu ba su samu martani ba. Higgins har yanzu yana da kwantiragin da ba a sanya hannu ba cikin fayilolin sa. Ya san tattaunawar ta ƙare gaba ɗaya lokacin da ya ga allon talabijin a filin jirgin sama yana watsa labari cewa Hammam ya ƙaura gaba ɗaya.

Tun lokacin, sha'awar magoya bayan Ayreland ta ƙara ƙarfafa kawai. A mako da ya gabata, magoya baya 75,000 sun cika Croke Park don wasan ado tsakanin Manchester United da Leeds — rikodin yawan masu kallo a duk wani wasan ƙwallon ƙafa a Jamhuriyar Ayreland. Arsenal kuma ta jawo babbar taron jama'a irin wannan zuwa Aviva Stadium don wasan kafin kakar wasa da Real Betis.

"Mutane za su yi dariya yanzu," in ji Higgins, "amma wani abu ne da da ya yi nasara, babu shakka."