The Football Career of My Dad: Joe Blair

“The ball was about a yard over the line” – My Dad, Joe Blair (in Ballywalter, 1991).

As time goes on, I became more and more interested in the football career of my Dad. My Dad Joe Blair played 11 a side football in three countries (Northern Ireland, England, Scotland) spanning 7 decades in a decorated career that makes more interesting reading now, than it did when I was younger. The reason is, as recently as 2017 (when he was aged 68!!) my Dad still played a 60 minute match (4 a side) and was the best player on the pitch! I aim to get some more videos, photos and stats added here. Piece by piece. Sadly in the early days of Dad’s playing career not many photos or videos, or match reports exist.

The Football Career of My Dad: Joe Blair

This is an overview of all the teams I have records of Dad playing for, with some incredible facts and stories to come. While Dad never played top flight Irish League or any major leagues in England and Scotland, he played for over 15 different teams and will always be my football hero and my epic journeyman. When I realised how many clubs Dad had played for and the fact that he played in a 4 a side match for 60 minutes with me aged 68 I realised time slipped away and I forgot how good Dad was. Dad played the game for fun and he always played with passion and flair. His mentality and love for the game never wilted. He’d still “drill a penalty hard and low beyond the keeper’s reach”.

As a kid, Dad had a trophy cabinet brimming with trophies from his multiple club career. They will hopefully be around somewhere. It really put my football awards to shame – All I have to show are a BB Jubilee Cup runners up medal and a BB Northern Ireland Cup winners medal, both in the 1990s. Dad played for some crazy teams, and in plenty of different weathers, pitches, stadiums, conditions, colours. Dad rarely said no to a match.

In those days, there are not many records of Dad’s career so I have to piece it all together using the few photos I have, plus my Dad’s chats to me about it as well as some input from my Mum, brothers Marko and Daniel. I really need a long video chat with my Dad to be recorded so I have it all as proof from Dad himself. Most of the stuff written here was peiced together over a number of years and with some research. My brothers are younger than me and didn’t even see Dad play for Bangor Amateurs in what was his Swansong season in 1990 – 1991, when Dad flourished and still played and scored in Amateur League football up to his 42nd birthday. I watched most of Dad’s matches live that season, mixed with watching Glentoran FC and the Northern Ireland international team.

Dad and I and our table in Cardiff in 2004 to watch Wales 2-2 Northern Ireland

Video footage of Dad playing football is also rare or non existent – in fact, I couldn’t find ANY video footage of Dad in an 11 a side match. This is quite sad for me – back in the 1950s, 1960s etc. even the weekly Irish League matches were not often recorded, never mind the lower divisions. When Dad last played in the Amateur League in 1991, aged 42 there were still no videos being made, or photos being taken. Probably the best video which only shows a glimpse of Dad’s skills and reading of the game, can be seen in the clips below. What’s incredible is that in this clip, it is just a 4 a side match in Belfast in November 2017 and my Dad is 68 years old!! I am the second oldest player on that pitch at 37, so Dad is the oldest player on the pitch by 31 years, yet he was the best player on the pitch. I am in the same team as my Dad here. We are attacking to the right. Dad is wearing the red shirt (a Gibraltar shirt I brought him from my travels) and I am the white shirt as a goalkeeper. Watching this clip from the start, Dad takes his position on the right side of the pitch. From the goalkeeper box, I launch the ball to him. Dad runs and spots Parker in our team just behind and lays the ball back to Parker. Parker shoots and it is saved. Dad tries with the rebound and it is saved again. It is my cousin Connor that makes both saves. Then my cousin Matty shoots against me. I save it and my friend Rafal (from Poland, with a white t shirt and black shorts) taps it to me. Dad has shouted for the ball, so I hit it first time left footed straight to Dad. Dad takes a touch and slots the ball into the bottom corner. He scored goals like that for fun for over 60 years!! In that match, when Dad was aged 68, he scored 6 goals. I was so lucky that my Polish friend Julia actually caught TWO of them on video. Here they are!

Watch one of Dad’s 6 goals here (I set him up for this one):

Watch another of Dad’s 6 goals here (I also set him up for this one):

Dad also goes close to scoring in this clip:

Year – Club – Appearances

Here is a list of clubs/teams/selects that my Dad played football for, at any level be it 11 a side, 5 a side, 4 a side, beach football, walking football etc. Some clubs and teams are certainly missing, especially from 1976 – 1989 and not all stats are accurate. After the list, I detail a little bit about each team.

Ravenhill United – 1959 – 1961
Park Parade 1960 – 1964
Lombard Boys Club 1960 – 1961
Willowfield Parish 1964
Kinnegar United 1964 – 1965
Crusaders Reserves 1965 – 1967
Dunmurry Rec 1965 – 1969
Distillery Reserves 1968 – 1969
Second Bangor Old Boys 1970 – 1974
ICL Seconds 1969
BT Northern Ireland 1971 – 1975
Belfast Phones – Early 70s
Construction ‘A’ 1970 – 1976 (Summer League, dates unclear)
Northern Ireland Tourist Select Boswinger Summer Friendly 1989
Bangor Amateurs 1990 – 1991 Played 6 Scored 3
British Telecom Northern Ireland (tour of Scotland) 1991-1992
Bangor Over 35s 1993
Busby Babes (5 a sides) 1992-1993
Friday Night Club (5 a sides) 1986 – 2000
10th Bangor Old Boys 1998 – 2000
Business In The Community (5 a sides) 2005
Ballyholme Bombers (beach football) – 2011
Daniel’s 18th Birthday Select (5 a sides)
Bangor Walking Football 2016 (5 a sides)
NIMIP Polish Select 2017 (4 a sides) Played 1 Scored 6

Dad’s Notable Matches

1965 – Skegoneil Avenue – Kinnegar United 4-1 Star of the Sea.
Dad scored 2 goals and had 2 assists and was signed for Crusaders after this match.
1967 – The Oval Belfast – Glentoran Seconds 2-1 Crusaders Reserves (Att: 10,000, George Wilson Cup Final) Dad was only 17 when this match happened and was the named sub for Crusaders. He came on early in the match due to an injury and this was his Crusaders debut.
1968 – Seaview, Belfast – Crusaders Select XI v. Northern Ireland Select XI
This match was played behind closed doors in 1968 between a Northern Ireland Select. Dad cannot remember every player on the pitch, but he certainly remembered that he nutmegged Derek Dougan! Derek Dougan played in the 1958 World Cup, played in two European finals and won 43 caps, scoring 8 goals for Northern Ireland in 3 different decades.
1974 – Belfast – Dad’s Electrician Team 5-1 Churchill House (Dad set up Gerry for a hat-trick as they beat favourites Churchill House in a final)
1975 – Valentines, Bangor – Dad went down with a horrific knee injury. Second half, he played on as they only had 11 players, but he was wrecked. He needed to go to hospital on the cartilidge and as Dad sadly professed “I was never the same player again after that”. Dad was only 26 when that happened.
1991 – Ballywalter – Ballywalter 1-0 Bangor Amateurs (Dad sent off for complaining about a goal that was 100% legit)
1999 – Bloomfield Playing Fields – 10th Bangor Old Boys 2-2 ?????????? (Dad and Jonny played ONE full competitive 11 a side match together – Dad centre half, Jonny right back)
2017 – NIMIP Poland Select 28 – 28 Northern Ireland Select – Aged 68 Dad scored 6 goals and was the best player on the pitch by a mile.

Joe Blair’s Career – Club by Club

Below I have gone club by club through my Dad’s career as best I could. I hope to fill all the facts in piece by piece.

Ravenhill United

Dates – 1959 – 1961
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Varied. Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours –
Played – 10+
Scored – 5+

Park Parade

Dates – 1960 – 1964
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – Yellow shirt with blue trim
Played – 10+
Scored – 5+

Dad was captain of Park Parade.

Lombard Boys Club

Dates – 1960 – 1961
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

Willowfield Parish

Dates – 1964
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

Kinnegar United

Dates – 1964 – 1965
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

Crusaders Reserves

Dates – 1965 – 1967
League – Northern Ireland Reserve League
Stadium / Pitches – Seaview, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – Red and Black stripes, black shorts, white socks
Played –
Scored –

Dad’s most prestigious match was with Crusaders Reserves – the George Wilson Cup Final 1996-1967.

Dunmurry Rec

Dates – 1965 – 1969
League – Division 1 A
Stadium / Pitches – Ashley Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – sky blue shirts
Played – Over 100
Scored – Over 50

Dunmurry Rec FC on Twitter
Dunmurry Rec FC on Facebook

(Back row – J nesbitt 3 G mcadams 4 T banfield 5 R Watson 9 B gamble
Front row Albert 10 Joe Blair 3 J Milligan 5 Tinkle. Taken circa 1967)

Distillery Reserves

Dates – 1968 – 1969
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Grosvenor Park / Ballyskeagh, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – White tops, black shorts
Played –
Scored –

Second Bangor Old Boys

Dates – 1970 – 1974
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Valentines, Bangor, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – Red and black
Played
Scored
Things are sketchy here. Formed in 1969 as 2nd Bangor Old Boys the club competed in the Old Boys League up until 1977 before joining the Northern Amateur League. In 1979 the club changed it’s name to Bangor Amateurs Football Club and in the 1985-86 season won the Junior Cup.

ICL Seconds

Dates – 1969
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

BT Northern Ireland

Dates -1971 – 1975
League –
Stadium / Pitches – All over Northern Ireland and away matches in Scotland and England.
Kit colours –
Played Scored –

Belfast Phones

Dates – Early 70s
League –
Stadium / Pitches –
Kit colours
Played Scored

Construction ‘A’

Years – 1970 – 1976
League – Belfast Summer League (dates unclear)
Stadium / Pitches – Dunmurry, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – White shirts, white shorts, white socks
One of the rare newspaper clippings of my Dad comes from his time at Construction “A”. This paper cutting was so important to me that I had it in a box for years in the 1990s and 2000s, before finding a way to scan it and reproduce it. In that match, Dad scored a hat-trick and was included in two photos in the paper.

Construction Race into Last Four: Tense moment for the Lisburn Postal defence (above)

Northern Ireland Tourist Select

Year – 1989
League – Boswinger Summer Friendly
Stadium / Pitches – Caravan Park pitch, Boswinger, Cornwall, ENGLAND.
Kit colours – NO.

I actually played in this match alongside Dad and three guys from Omagh (2 sons and their Dad) in an England v. Northern Ireland friendly match on a real pitch at a caravan park in the Boswinger Summer Holiday Camp. There are no photos of that match and I don’t know the score but it was definitely a full pitch and 11 a side. It is possible that my brother Marko also played in this match.

Family Holiday in Cornwall in 1989 and some of the Northern Ireland Tourist Select

Bangor Amateurs

Year – 1990 – 1991
League – Down Area League
Stadium / Pitches – Ballyvarnet. Varied. Valetines, Bangor. Ballywalter, Abbey Villa, Ards Roundabout., all Northern Ireland.
Kit colours – red and black
Played 6+ Scored 3+
1 red card

Dad made a triumphant return to league football in 1990 – 1991 and I was delighted with this. I watched him every week and he played for Bangor Amateurs. This had Dad rolling back the years and I remember how well he played in those matches. It felt like a swansong. He had played for a team called 2nd Bangor Old Boys in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That team changed its name in 1979 to…Bangor Amateurs.

Formed in 1969 as 2nd Bangor Old Boys the club competed in the Old Boys League up until 1977 before joining the Northern Amateur League. In 1979 the club changed it’s name to Bangor Amateurs Football Club and in the 1985-86 season won the Junior Cup. After this successful season the club attained intermediate status football and have gone on to win various other trophies over the years.

A successful 2018/19 season in which the Amateurs 1st team finished 2nd in division 1C they achieved promotion to Division 1B for the 2019/20 season. The 2nd Team finished 2018/19 season in 4th place and will push for promotion in Division 3D of the Northern Amateur League for the 2019/20 season.

Bangor Amateurs on Facebook
Bangor Amateurs on Twitter

British Telecom Northern Ireland (tour of Scotland)

Dates – 1991 – 1992 – 1993
League – Tour of Scotland
Stadium / Pitches – SCOTLAND
Kit colours – BT Northern Ireland wore Green shirts, white shorts and green socks.
Played – 3 (v. Wales, Scotland and England)
Scored – ?

Bangor Over 35s

Dates – 1992 – 1993
League – Summer League
Stadium / Pitches – Ards Rugby Club, Newtownards, NORTHERN IRELAND
Kit colours –
Played – 6
Scored – ?

Peter Dornan, who played for Linfield and Sheffield Wednesday played alongside my Dad in this summer tournament in 1993. I think it was held over three nights but I just cannot remember. Two other players were Jonesy and Roy Mairs, both were teachers at Bangor Grammar School.

Busby Babes (5 a sides)

Dates – 1992 – 1993
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Kit colours – grey t shirt with red and blue BT logo
Played – 3
Scored – At least 3

Nickname Busby Babes came from the fact it was BT in a companies tournament at Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast.

BT (5 a sides)

Dates – 1992 – 1994
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Abbey Leisure Centre, Rathcoole, NORTHERN IRELAND
Kit colours
Played Scored

Robbie Cowan and I played with his son, Mark Cowan.

Friday Night Club 1986 – 2000 (5 a sides)

Dates – 1986 – 2000
League – Every Friday Night
Stadium / Pitches – Bangor Leisure Centre, Rathcoole, NORTHERN IRELAND
Kit colours – None.
Played 400+
Scored 400+

Dad played 5 a side football EVERY Friday night for years and years. I couldn’t believe the stamina of him sometimes. He would be home from work at 6 p.m., have his dinner and showered by 7 p.m. and play 5 a side for a full hour from either 8 – 9 p.m. or 9 – 10 p.m.

Participants – Victor Bower, Robin Whitford, Stephen Dumigan, Brian, Gary

BT Euro 1996 Friendly Select

Date – 26th June 1996
League – One-off Euro 1996 Friendly
Stadium / Pitches – Dunmurry, NORTHERN IRELAND
Kit colours – Don’t remember
Played – 1
Scored

When I started to write and research this article, something amazing happened. I suddenly remembered about a forgotten game. Originally, I thought that I had only ever played one competitive 11 a side match alongside my Dad, but this was wrong. As a 16 year old, I headed to Dunmurry with Dad on the same day as the England v. Germany Euro 1996 final. Dad played the full match for a BT select side, but in the second half, they allowed some of the sons to come on and I was one of them. This means, I actually played twice alongside Dad in a proper 11 a side match, but this was simply a friendly. I don’t remember the score, the kit colours or anything else about it except for the fact that I think I played in left midfield and I didn’t score any goals. The match may have finished 2-2.

10th Bangor Old Boys

Dates – 1998 – 2000
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Belfast, Ards and Bangor, NORTHERN IRELAND
Kit colours – Blue shirts
Played –
Scored –

Business In The Community (5 a sides)

Dates – 2005
League –
Stadium / Pitches –
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

Ballyholme Bombers (Beach football)

Dates –
League –
Stadium / Pitches – Ballyholme Beach, Bangor, NORTHERN IRELAND (jumpers for nets)
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

Ballyholme Bombers on Facebook
A Blog About the Ballyholme Bombers

Daniel’s 18th Birthday Blairs Select (6 a sides)

Date – Saturday 7th April 2012
5 a side family and friends friendly
Stadium / Pitches – Eddie Irvine Sports, Bangor.
Kit colours – Orange Bibs (Blairs)
Played – 1
Scored – 3+
Attendance – 4 (Cathy Blair, Anna McCullough, Claire McCullough, Panny Yu)

I was living in Hong Kong and made a surprise trip back to Northern Ireland for my brother Daniel Blair’s birthday. To date, this is the ONLY match that I have played with my Dad and both brothers.

Participants –
Blairs Select – Joe Blair (captain), Jonny Blair, Marko Blair, Daniel Blair, Connor Blair (late pullout), Matty Blair, Gary McCullough, Lewis McCullough.
Northern Ireland Select – Robin Whitford, Michael Whitford, Philip Whitford, Michael McClelland, Gavin McClelland, Brendan Burdock.

Daniel's 18th Birthday Blairs Select (6 a sides) — Daniel’s 18th Birthday Blairs Select (6 a sides)

Bangor Walking Football 2016 (5 a sides)

Dates –
League –
Stadium / Pitches –
Kit colours –
Played –
Scored –

NIMIP Polish Select 2017 (4 a sides)

Date – Thursday November 2017
4 a side family and friends friendly
Stadium / Pitches – Stormont, Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND.
Kit colours – Poland Select (white and red) v. Northern Ireland Select (green and white)
Played – 1
Scored – 6
Attendance – 1 (Julia Korcz)

Having relocated to Poland in 2016, I organised a trip home to Northern Ireland in November 2017 to show my two Polish friends Rafal and Julia around my country. On the Thursday night of that trip.
Participants
Poland Select – Jonny Blair (captain), Joe Blair, Rafal Kowalczyk, Parker
Northern Ireland Select – Matty Blair, Connor Blair, Gary McCullough, ***********

Dad scores one of his 6 goals for the NIMIP Polish Select 2017 (4 a sides)

Joe Blair – Football Management

Dad managed quite a few teams as well and was at one point a player-manager for 10th Bangor Old Boys.

10th Bangor B team 1992 – 1993
10th Bangor A team 1993 – 1996
10th Bangor Old Boys 1999 – 2000
10th Bangor Juniors 2004 – 2006

Dad was my manager for the 10th Bangor B and A team in the 1990s. The weirdest thing about this is that I have three team photos from that era that I am in, and they are all either side of Dad’s time as manager!! (1 is in May 1991, the other 2 are both from 1998). So none of those team photos show Dad and I – in fact Dad probably took those photos.

10th Bangor Juniors, May 1991 in Ballywooley, Northern Ireland

10th Bangor Seniors, February 1998 in Valentines, Northern Ireland

Joe Blair – Awards and Honours

1967 – George Wilson Cup runner-up (Crusaders Reserves)

(to be updated)

Joe Blair – Video Footage

Unfortunately in the era that my Dad played from 1958 – 1993, most Amateur matches in Northern Ireland have no videos. I haven’t been able to find ANY video footage of his matches. However, I have myself managed to make some videos of Dad playing football on Copacabana Beach in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup and some 5 a side matches I have played with my Dad down the years.

Northern Irish grounds that Dad confirmed he DEFINITELY played at

Clandeboye Park, Bangor.
Seaview, Belfast.
The Brandywell, Londonderry.
The Oval, Belfast.
New Grosvenor, Belfast.
Solitude, Belfast.
The Valentines, Bangor.
Connor Park, Bangor.
The Bullring, Bangor.
Ashley Park, Dunmurry.
Castlereagh Park, Newtownards.
Wilgar Park (The Hen Run), Belfast.

Northern Irish grounds that Dad confirmed he DIDN’T play at

Stangmore Park – Dungannon Swifts FC.
Milltown – Warrenpoint Town FC.

This page will be updated little by little.

Thanks for such amazing football memories, Dad!

Kitgate: My Thoughts on the Northern Ireland Kit Saga

“It’s always exciting following Northern Ireland. Win, lose or draw. We talk and we drink and we sing and we laugh.”

Selling fanzines at Windsor Park in Belfast in 2002. A 0-0 draw with Ukraine.

I don’t write about football as much as I used to. Travel got in the way. But long before I backpacked the world and started online businesses, I edited and produced a fanzine about the Northern Ireland international football team. It was called “Here We Go…Again”. Myself and my friends Michael and Gavin were teenagers at the time, I was 16 when the first fanzine came out for the Portugal home match in 1997. Those were the glory days of fanzines before the internet took over. At the time we made the fanzine, we knew we weren’t world beaters, we didn’t expect to qualify for a major tournament for a long time after that.

Selling fanzines at Windsor Park in Belfast at the Spain match in 2003. We drew 0-0.

By 2004 though, our lives got busy and we knocked the fanzine on the head after the Poland and Wales double header. I started the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club while based in the seaside town of Bournemouth and I still met up for home and away matches with the old crew. The dizzy heights of 2005 – 2007 had us dreaming of qualifying, as Healy scored 13 goals in one group. We gunned down Sweden, Denmark, Spain and England at Windsor Park in the space of 2 years. Amazing.

The night we beat the England at Windsor Park.

In 2009, if we had won our last two matches (v. Slovakia and v. Czech Republic) we would have at least a play off to qualify for the South Africa World Cup. But it wasn’t to be. Our wee country were the nearly men once again. After a long time travelling and living abroad, I headed to Azerbaijan and Turkey in 2013 for a couple of away matches and made it back to Belfast in time for our first Euro 2016 qualifier – a 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands. We were in dreamland when we beat the Faroes 3-1 away a year later, meaning we could beat Hungary and qualify outright! The moment was finally realised with Josh Magennis’s header against Greece. That was it. Davis added a third and we had done it. It had been an incredible journey for myself, for all the Northern Ireland fans that I know and have known down the years. We had travelled all those miles, paid for all those tickets, beers, buses and burgers and now we had qualified! We were euphoric!

A party day out in Bristol with the South of England NISC

Then after the euphoria and excitement of bating them there Greeks and qualifying for the European Championships for the first time in our history, we organised a friendly with Latvia. On the Monday before the match, the IFA and Adidas embarrassed themselves by what can only be described as a huge kit f**k up. The Irish FA and Adidas have released what has to be one of the worst ever Northern Ireland shirts of all time, with an overwhelming majority of 95% of Northern Ireland fans hating the kit. Over 6,000 signed an online poll and the kit received widespread condemnation from the majority of Northern Ireland diehards. I hate it myself, it’s horrendous, it’s brutal and yes while I appreciate that a small percentage 5% of fans actually like it, most of us don’t want it, we’re appalled by it and we won’t buy it or wear it.

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” – Anon

Why are we making such a big deal over a football shirt?
Because it’s important to us. It’s a part of our journey and our life. It’s important. It’s very important. Northern Ireland fans are emotional, patriotic, passionate, optimistic, pessimistic people. We hate being un-noticed. We hate being treated like second best. We have a unique bond in this country which cannot be experienced anywhere else in the world. We are unpredictable. We shock ourselves. We rip the piss out of each other. We sometimes act the lig. We have debates about flegs/flags, city names, anthems, poppies. We love debates. We are opinionated and we’ll make it known. We even have debates about colours.

On the football pitch, we’re a mental bunch and we love it. In 1982, we drew 1-1 with Honduras, then beat Spain 1-0 in Spain. In 1996, we drew 1-1 with Armenia at home, then drew 1-1 in Germany. In 2006, we lost 3-0 at home to Iceland and 5 days later we beat Spain 3-2. We are a special group of people, the Green and White Army. The GAWA. We’ve seen it all on and off the pitch. The Neil Lennon saga, the McMenemy years, the Healy debut double, the 1,200+ minutes without scoring a single goal, the night we beat the England, the bombs at Windsor Park, the player poaching by the other country on the island of Ireland, the anthem debates, the Arconada…Armstrong! It’s always exciting following Northern Ireland. Win, lose or draw. We talk and we drink and we sing and we laugh. It’s quare craic let me tell you. My English and US mates that have joined in Northern Ireland away days and supporters club meetings often site them as the best times of their lives (I kid you not).

We also understand each other. Mostly. I was in Copenhagen Airport on my own in September on route to Vagar in the Faroe Islands and rather than have me drink on my own, two NI lads, Justin and John called me over to drink with them. It happens a lot. We look out for each other. We are brothers and sisters that may never have met. But we understand the culture of following Northern Ireland. I love it. You love it. Keith Gillespie loves it.

“It’s a passion. You can feel it in the air” – Snap (Rhythm is a Dancer)

When we beat Greece and qualified it was a huge moment for us all. It was our first ever qualification for the Euros. We went on to win the group! For those under the age of 30 (including my youngest brother Danny), this is the first time they have even seen Northern Ireland at a major championships.

Drawing a picture of Maradona and the NI Panini page open during the 1986 World Cup.

I remember Mexico 86 watching on TV with my Dad and collecting the sticker album and getting a scarf. But this time, I’m old enough to understand the true meaning of it. Many of my friends have been on this journey with me since 1986. It’s big time. It’s major.

My first ever Northern Ireland kit and ball.

And now that we have qualified the excitement mounts even more! The fixtures coming out, booking flights, boats, trains, hostels, hotels, campsites. Which bar are we meeting in? What song can we sing about Stuarty Dallas or Paddy McNair? The kits coming out. Yes, we all love our 1982 Whiteside or the 1986 Colin Clarke retro jerseys but we are looking forward to a fabulous Euro 2016 kit! Part of the excitement was about a new kit for the Euros. Myself and thousands of fellow Norn Iron fans are hotly anticipating the new kit, but we thought we might not see it until the new year, 2016. Especially given that the latest kit was only worn in late 2014 for the first time, and the latest away was first worn in February 2015. We are with Adidas at the moment for our kit manufacturer, as we were in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, so we should trust that they will deliver the goods. I can’t wait to see the kit. Can’t wait to buy it. Can’t wait to wear it. Can’t wait to get my first beer stain on it. What will it look like?

Maybe a classic pin striped away kit like this from Coatsey on Our Wee Country?:

A classic pinstriped away idea from Coatsey on Our Wee Country

Perhaps a really snazzy modern green and white top like Dan from Dan B designs?

A snazzy modern number designed by Dan at Dan B designs

Perhaps even similar to this shirt, a recent Germany away kit?

We're not Deutschland we're Northern Ireland — We’re not Deutschland we’re Northern Ireland

And then. Oh no. Oh dear. This must be a joke. It’s a wee wind up from one of your mates on Bakebook isn’t it?

The new "Northern Ireland shirt" — The new “Northern Ireland shirt”

As the shirt was revealed on a Monday in November, suddenly, the IFA were having to pull posts and tweets from their social media feed. Instantly the GAWA hated it. That horrendous blue stripe. Horrendous. It looks like a training shirt. And while I don’t speak for the GAWA, I’m one of the GAWA and I hate it. It’s my opinion. It’s horrendous. We need a proper classic Northern Ireland tournament shirt we can all be proud of. We are the fans, we spend our time, effort and money over the years watching when Andy Smith and Lee McEvilly couldn’t hit a barn door. We travelled to far off places to watch Norn Iron get duffed. All we wanted was a kit that the fans instantly love and we would all rush out and buy it. For £55 I would gladly pay for a decent memorable Northern Ireland Euro 2016 shirt.

But I won’t be buying this, neither will a hell of a lot more of this family, the GAWA. We’re not impressed, that’s the overall opinion.

I expect Adidas and the Irish Football Association to lose up to £2 million pounds on this mistake, and I reckon they will most likely lose the contract for Adidas to manufacture any future Northern Ireland shirts. Adidas, a multi million pound company, have failed in their research into the Northern Irish market. We’re a nice bunch of people here in this country, but treat us with respect and give us what we want. I see Germany and Belgium love their kits. We don’t. Sort it out please. I bet Kyle Lafferty is in stitches with this one. He’s a boy with a sense of humour. He thinks we might play Argentina in the Euros! Brilliant Kyle, brilliant! If a country has a sense of humour, it’s Northern Ireland. Check this out:

Lafferty with his t*ts out (courtesy of bangorzane on Our Wee Country)

It would be nice if we could have this home shirt shifted to a training shirt after the Latvia match and a new shirt launched for Euro 2016 that we all love. If not, I’ll be wearing a retro 1980s or 1990s shirt to the Euros in France.

We are real fans of Northern Ireland. We care. We have emotion. We want a nice shirt to wear. It was too easy for Adidas and the IFA, but somewhere along the line there has been a major mistake. I’m just having my opinion on it, that’s all. You can have yours but I don’t like it. See you all in France!

#kitgate #adidasruinedthedream #gawa

“We’ll support you evermore” – Northern Ireland fans

The story has attracted media attention and has appeared on a few different media outlets including:

Our Wee Country
The Irish Sun
The Belfast Telegraph
Ulster Television
The Newsletter
The Daily Mail
Belfast Live

Sky Sports

Please sign this petition set up by my friend Ian McKinney and let’s get a proper shirt out for the Euros. Northern Ireland kit Scandal and please like and share the Facebook Page about boycotting this shirt.#kitgate

“Let’s get ourselves the kit we deserve, not this awful mess!” – Ian McKinney, 2015

Ian McKinney and I in Romania in 2014 with David Watson and Colin Bowles. GAWA!

Green and White Army!

Jonny Blair
Lifelong Northern Ireland Supporter, Travel Writer, Blogger, Ulsterman.

Construction Race Into Last Four

Lisburn Star, Northern Ireland, 1970s

Construction Race Into Last Four

Construction ‘A’ 5
Lisburn Postal 1

Construction ‘A’ won a place in the semi-finals of the Regional Beckett Soccer Shield with an impressive win over Lisburn Postal at Dunmurry.

An outstanding display by outside-right Joe Blair whose hat-trick included a penalty gave Construction the edge.

Leading 3-0 at the interval with goals by Blair (2) and centre forward Bill McCarron, Construction pushed ahead to net two more from Blair and David Stevenson.

Construction Race Into Last Four: Construction 'A' attack against Lisburn. Hat-trick hero Joe Blair in the background. — Construction Race Into Last Four: Construction ‘A’ attack against Lisburn. Hat-trick hero Joe Blair in the background.

No chance

Blair’s third goal was a 25-yard bullet which left Postal keeper Tom Chapman with no chance to save.

It was left to Lisburn striker Frank McPolin to push home a penalty in the last ten minutes.

Teams:
Construction – Jim Barr; Roy Kennedy, Frank McGee, William Adair, Robert Finlay; Michael Hatton, Brian McGarry, Joe Blair, David Stevenson, Tony McFaddon, William McCarron. Sub: Richard Bell
Lisburn Postal – Tom Chapman; Jim Wilson, Reggie Johnson, Bob Savage, Dave Anderson, Jackie McDowell, Jackie Allen, Wilf Higginson, Frank McPolin, William Dalzell, Maurice McCarthy.

This is a report from the 1970s that I have copied from a newspaper clipping about the day my Dad scored a hat trick.

Lads World Cup Day in London, England

Right lads, here’s the plan for the day!! Please feel free to print out and add any suggestions to the Facebook Page please. I’ll be gradually updating this as the day nears closer.

Date – SATURDAY 14TH JUNE 2014
Location – London, ENGLAND
Event – Lads World Cup Pub Crawl, Crazy Golf and Banter
Start time – 10.30 am onwards
Dress Code – You have to wear SOMETHING related to football (doesn’t have to be a football shirt)
** You MUST bring one item on the day related to the WORLD CUP. Failure to do this and you’ll have to BUY one item during the crawl of forfeit your right to a sticker album.
Matches that day:
5pm – Colombia v. Greece
8pm – Uruguay v. Costa Rica
11pm – England v. Italy
2am – Ivory Coast v. Japan
(guess what – we’re watching them ALL in pubs – amazing!! That’s 360 minutes of football plus injury time, half times, national anthems etc. – over 450 minutes in total!)

Timetable for the day:

10.30 am – Those staying in the hostel, check into Dover Castle hostel (if room not ready, drop off bags and valuables). If we really have to we will return at 2pm when the room is ready and leave our stuff in the room and claim our FREE pint as guests. Those not staying there will need to buy their own drink.
Address and website , nearest tube station is BOROUGH.

Dover Castle Hostel

6A Great Dover Street
London SE1 4XW
United Kingdom

Open 24 hours
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7403 7773
Email: stay@dovercastlehostel.com

6 bed dorm booked in hostel for – Jonny, Richard, Chris, Lee, Neil, Austin. Jonny has paid the deposit already.
(Dan possibly sleeping on the floor in our room)

11am – COSTA coffee. Also in Borough and very close to the Dover Castle pub. Walk it. Every member of the crawl will be issued with a mini sticker album for the day and their COSTA RICA sticker providing they consume more than 50% of a coffee in there. Those who miss the coffee introduction will have to provide proof they had a Costa Coffee later in the day (a receipt or a “Facebooked selfie” will be the only acceptable proof. Saying “my mate definitely had a crappuccino in Costa” will not get you the sticker). Any coffee on the menu counts as your sticker, tea or orange juice are unacceptable. In Costa Jonny will film the rules being read out to the group to confirm everyone understands. This will be videoed as part of the documentary.

Address –

Costa Coffee

134-138 Borough High St

London SE1 1LB

United Kingdom

This screen grab has both the Dover Castle and Costa Coffee on it, either side of Borough tube:

12 Noon – First beer of the day in The Charlie Chaplin in Elephant and Castle which is ONE stop south on the tube, with its “elephant” link qualifying as IVORY COAST. If this is disputed (as it can be) then we will have to head to the actual Elephant and Castle pub, which is in Kensington.

The Charlie Chaplin

26 New Kent Rd

London SE1 6TJ

United Kingdom

In this pub, a vote will be done between GREEK restaurant, ITALIAN restaurant, URUGUAYAN restaurant and JAPANESE restaurant for lunch. ** options below

1pm Restaurant lunch The winner of the democratic vote is where we have lunch. The runner up will be the dinner option for the 7.30pm Uruguay v. Costa Rica match.

Straight after lunch a traditional English pub will be selected for the consumption of a fine ale and everyone will get their ENGLAND sticker. This is a spontaneous one. Any pub with an England link will do (given we’re in England, this will be easy) on route to Crazy Golf…if we don’t get the time, we all get our England sticker at the Crazy Golf. Details on how to win at Crazy Golf will be revealed and democratically voted in the previous pub. (e.g. every hole in one, that person gets bought a shot, any over 6 they buy a round etc. Any missing balls they forfeit a pint (i.e. go into a pub and not allowed to have a beer!))

2pm We head to the Crazy Golf, “Putt in the Park” at Wandsworth, I’ve booked 8 of us in from 2.30pm. Through my travel writing, I have managed to get us the 20% off our entire bill, including BEER, drinks and golf. If more turn up, we’ll just tell them and it should be fine, been in touch with the manager.

http://www.puttinthepark.com/

They have a bar there, if it’s any good we can hang around for Colombia v. Greece but I kind of wanted to be more central for the Uruguay v. Costa Rica match as the day’s biggest match England v. Italy gets closer. We’ll assess it on the day, but maybe after the golf, we head to a Greek restaurant…

4.30pm – We need to be in a decent bar by 4.30 pm to watch Colombia v. Greece which kicks off at 5pm.
That match finishes before 7pm, at which point we need another pub for the Uruguay match. An option is to find a Greek or Italian restaurant near the Jurassic Golf.

7.30 pm – We need to be in a decent bar by 7.30 pm to watch Uruguay v. Costa Rica. I was thinking Zoo Bar Uruguay for this one but it depends on the vote. I vote ZOO bar and we all get our URUGUAY stamp. Zoo Bar Uruguay, Leicester Square (where Uruguay fans go)

10 pm – Straight after the Uruguay match, the English lads can have their time. I’m Northern Irish so happy to watch the game anywhere the boys want. You choose the pub, the location, the country and maybe we can do a bet on the way.

1am – After celebrating England’s 3-0 win, a boring 1-1 draw or a fluke Italian 1-0 win, we head for a relaxing Japanese beer ready for the night’s final match at 2am.

3.45am – After that, I’d say bed could be the option. 4 matches, 2 days without sleep, 2 countries and an international flight, Jonny will be first to say goodnight! As long as I have completed my Panini album.

RULES

Yes lads, Jonny Blair, Neil Macey and Lock In Lee Adams are the three assigned adjudacators for the day and what they say, stands, unless an overwhelming majority can prove otherwise. Here are the main rules:

1. To qualify for a sticker you must consume more than 50% of your drink in the set venue.
2. No double stickers can be issued. It’s one each. You don’t get any awards for eating 3 pizzas or drinking 6 Uruguayan Merlots. They’re all just worth 1 per team.
3. Every person on the pub crawl needs to bring ONE random item related to the World Cup. In Costa Coffee, Neil Macey will be showing his random item first. After that it’s one per pub throughout the day, drawn from a hat.
4. If a person has to head off on their own to “complete a country” they missed, then a receipt or a “Facebooked selfie” will be the only acceptable proof. Saying “my mate definitely had a crappuccino in Costa” will not get you the sticker, neither will putting the barman on the phone “live” from the pub. I’ve met a fair amount of bullshitters in my time.
5. Either Jonny, Neil or Lee have to issue you with the sticker and feel you earned that COUNTRY. Any disputes will result in democratic vote. If still not solved, a pelanty shoot out between the two parties in the pub will be held.

My Football Articles

I love football and have followed it since the early 1980s. I have attended over 500 football matches on my travels through almost 100 countries.

Personally my favourite clubs teams are Glentoran FC (from Belfast, Northern Ireland) and AFC Bournemouth (from England).

My favourite international football team is Northern Ireland and I have been to watch them over 100 times, across 20 different countries.

I will post a list of my football articles here:

northern ireland england 1-0 healy — Watching Northern Ireland beat England 1-0 in Belfast in 2005.

If you read this and want to help me find my stolen World Cup tickets please visit these sites and contact me:
DHL stolen World Cup tickets
FIFA stolen World Cup tickets