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While we all know that George Best was Northern Ireland’s first Ballon D’Or winner, let’s not forget about all the other Northern Irish nominees down the years.💚🔴🤚☘️⚽️🏆🥅 Danny Blanchflower was top twenty thrice in the 1950s and 1960s. Pat Jennings braced that trophy in the 1970s. He was 23rd in 1973 and 27th in 1975,… Continue reading Northern Ireland’s Ballon D’Or Nominees💚🔴🤚☘️⚽️🏆🥅

There are actually not as many footballers as you think who played for both Northern Irelandand England. Of course, there are many footballers born in England who have represented Northern Ireland down the years – mostly due to their parents or grandparents being from Northern Ireland. Supreme examples of this are Iain Dowie, Chris Nicholl,… Continue reading Footballers Who Played For Northern Ireland And England

World Cup Winners Who Were At Irish League Clubs George Eastham (Ards and England 1966) Believe it or not, I could only find ONE World Cup winner who has played for a club team from Northern Ireland and therefore The Irish League!! While the likes of Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and Gordon Banks all played… Continue reading World Cup Winners Who Were At (Northern) Irish League Clubs

Quiz for ye! Just for fun – NORTHERN IRELAND football ANAGRAMS.LIKE, SHARE, SOLVE and BATE! – All players have at least one CAP – Players can appear twice – HOWEVER, 1 player is not a Northern Ireland international (who is the exception, the “foranner” on the list ?) Good luck! 1.HP RAY LIG 2.COPE A… Continue reading Northern Ireland Football Players Anagrams Quiz

“Baggsy not nets” – Every Northern Irish kid down the park. I don’t know if I can speak for all football fans here, but I love a last minute goalkeeper charge intill the box. Goalkeepers are often unsung heroes. Goalkeepers are often scapegoats. They make a mistake, they concede a goal. They get blamed. But… Continue reading Northern Ireland Goalkeepers Who Scored Goals

“The Kong”, officially Hong Kong🇭🇰 was a UK overseas territory until 1997. The first Irish Pub in the Hong was opened by a lad from Northern Ireland in the same decade, Delaney’s. Two decades later, I worked out in the Kong in Delaney’s, I watched Hong Kong live a few times and I formed the… Continue reading Northern Irish Footballers From Hong Kong🇭🇰

A 4-1 aggregate victory over Ukraine in 2021 meant elation and a dream beyond belief. Ranked fourth in our group, we beat Belarus and Ukraine home and away and drew twice with Wales. All those teams were ranked above us. The girls were sensational! Here are some of the songs that have been released to… Continue reading Songs For The Northern Ireland Women’s Team at Euro 2022

In our ongoing series on Northern Irishmen who played for other countries (and vice versa), it’s time for The Channel Islands. What are the Northern Irish links to the likes of Brecqhou, Sark, Lihou, Herm, Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey etc.? Previous articles include – Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For Australia Northern Irish Footballers Who Played… Continue reading Northern Irish Footballers With Links To The Channel Islands

*** ChampIAN STEWARTnova *** 🍾🏆☘🔴🤚⚽️🥅 14 years after finishing this football travel book, Jonny Blair finally released ChampIAN STEWARTnova in February 2023. Here’s the description of the book from the back cover.   ChampIAN STEWARTnova “We’ll support you evermore” – Northern Ireland fans. “ChampIAN STEWARTnova” is the first GAWA-focused book from travel writer Jonny Blair… Continue reading New GAWA Book Released: ChampIAN STEWARTnova – Supporting The Northern Ireland Football Team 1980 – 2009

In our ongoing series on Northern Irishmen who played for other countries (and vice versa), it’s time for The Dominican Republic. Previous articles include – Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For Australia Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For Canada Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For New Zealand Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For USA Northern… Continue reading Northern Irish Footballers Who Played For The Dominican Republic