Tony Blair wanted Wimbledon FC to become Belfast United

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair was keen on an idea to relocate then-Premier League football side Wimbledon FC to Belfast in the late 1990s.

Previously confidential state papers include a note from 1997 described as "following up earlier informal discussions about the possibility of an English Premier League football club relocating to Belfast".

It was described as something that would be a "significant breakthrough if Belfast had a football team playing in the English Premier League", and "should be able to build up strong cross-community support and provide a positive unifying force in a divided city".

It was also mooted that it would come with a principally private sector funded modern 40,000-seater sports stadium, and potentially an academy for sport, located on Queen's Island in east Belfast or the North Foreshore site in the north of the city.

The note suggested that Wimbledon FC would undergo a name change to Belfast United.

It was leaked to the Belfast Telegraph which then published a story reporting that Secretary of State Mo Mowlam was throwing her weight behind the idea, to bring new investment to Northern Ireland and boosting its image on the international stage.

However the article also noted that local football bosses in Northern Ireland were concerned it could "kill off the game in Northern Ireland".

As well as Mowlam, Downing Street also took an interest in the proposal, with a note by then-chief press secretary Alistair Campbell urging that Wimbledon owner Sam Hammam "had explored the possibility of moving Wimbledon to Dublin, but this seems to have come to naught".

He added that Hammam had seen media reports of Northern Ireland’s interest, and "was keen to know whether this was serious, or speculation,