There’s snakes on the pitch

by

Kalyani Stadium staff was busy with some extra clean up action the other day when it was discovered that over a dozen poisonous snakes had made their ways inside, right onto the field, endangering any future footballer who anyone else who may have wanted to go practice on that field.

This happened after Mohun Bagans I-League had their match against the Arrows, and the stadium was thankfully empty of any fans. A local newspaper, the Indian Express, said that the local city council attributed this influx of snakes to the unusual summer heat that the region has been under. It is not yet known if the next match will be able to take place, but so far the authorities are confident that the problem has been dealt with.

50 years of footballing fashion on display at the National Football Museum Manchester

by

If you haven’t yet paid a visit to the National Football Museum since its relocation from Preston to Manchester, it’s new exhibition might just be the one to tempt you in. The name; Strike a Pose; 50 years of Football and Fashion is a complete giveaway and takes a look at everything that links both football and fashion from the way that kits have evolved over the years, through the many dodgy haircuts and the rise and rise of the WAG.

This is not merely a fashion show however, as the exhibition effectively deals with how the coupling of the beautiful game and fashion have changed both society and popular culture and also led to violence in the terraces. Inspired by the best selling book from 2004; The Fashion of Football From Best to Beckham, From Mod to Label Slave by Mark Baxter and Paolo Hewitt, they have run with the authors’ belief that what unites fashion and football is passion.

Things started to change in the 1960’s when the footballing minimum wage was scrapped and they could then start to lead more lavish lifestyles than their predecessors could ever have dreamt of. Fans started to take sartorial inspiration from their stylish icons, a trend that continues today. The late and great George Best owned a fashion boutique in Manchester on Bridge Street, so it is fitting that the exhibition looks at the part he played in the 60’s.

Another fun inclusion from recent times is the ovecoat favoured by Jose Mourinho during his time at Chelsea, and itself an inspiration for a song sung by the fans at matches. There have also been some notable faux pas, lest we forget those white suits the Liverpool team sported before the FA Cup Final in 1996. Gamely, Robbie Fowler has supplied one of these offensive items for the exhibition, fine in 76′ but a definite no no two decades later.

It hasn’t yet been disclosed which famous hairstyles have made the cut but obvious inclusions would be the Keegan bubble perm and the 80’s mullets sported by Glen Hoddle and Chris Waddle. There are many photographs on display courtesy of one of Britain’s finest photographers Terry O’Neill who shot to fame in the 60’s with his candid shots of celebs. An avid footie fan, O’Neill happily provided images for the display, including a great shot of a very young Bobby Moore, described by the museum as an unlikely style icon.

The dark side of football is also explored and looks at the links between the terraces and the skinheads, mods, casuals and how the different styles spilled over into explicit violence, and even today exists in the form of racism. This is an excellent exhibition which runs until the 27th August 2013, so get along there if you can.

 

 

 

 

 

The Road to Rio

by

Today sees the launch of The Road to Rio, a mini-guide to the destinations – San Marino/Rimini, Podgorica, Novi Sad, Stockholm, Split and Zagreb – hosting World Cup qualifying games this spring.

England, Scotland and Ireland travel to San Marino, Montenegro, Serbia, Sweden and Croatia – and the Libero Guide team has visited every stadium and half-decent pub, sports bar and hotel there to produce the Road to Rio website available at www.footballfansguide.co.uk

Libero (£1.49) is the football fans’ travel app, for Apple and Android smartphones, the most up-to-date travel companion to Europe’s most exciting destinations, city-by-city, club-by-club.

Packed solid with freshly researched information and thousands of original photos, Libero is massive – so massive it is best downloadable with a strong WiFi or via iTunes.

liberoguide.co.uk/liberoguide.com

Celtic Football Club Supporting Indian Youth Football Development

by
Celtic Football Club Supporting Indian Youth Football Development

Neil Lennon with Celtic’s guests

Celtic Football Club are working to promote the beautiful game in India.  They have teamed up with the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge and as part of the programme two Indian teenage stars recently spent a week training in Scotland with the Glasgow giants.

The Mahindra tournament is played out in six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Cochin, Goa and Calicut.

More than 3000 players from 192 schools took part and the winning teams from each centre came together in Bangalore for an inter-city championship. At the same time, the teams and their coaches received specialist training from Celtic coaches who flew out from Scotland.

Throughout the final stages of the tournament the Scottish coaches shortlisted the best individual players, who were then invited to Glasgow.

This year the honour fell to Gaurav Bora (14) from Delhi and 15-year-old Sufaid Ali Pookkodan from Kerala, both of whom are central defenders.

The youngsters spent an eventful seven days as guests of Celtic. On their first night in Scotland they found themselves in the centre circle during the half-time break in the recent Celtic v Kilmarnock Premier League match.

Gaurav and Sufaid Ali were introduced to the crowd and were given a warm welcome on a cold Glasgow night as Celtic went on to win 4-1.

During the rest of their stay they visited a mosque and a Hindu temple, enjoyed a tasty night out at Mr Singh’s, one of Glasgow’s top Indian restaurants, and trained with young Celtic stars of the future.

They even found the time to keep up with their studies at a local school.

This was the second year of a three-year commitment by Celtic to the Mahindra tourney and it is understood negotiations are currently taking place to extend the arrangement.

Celtic worked closely with Glasgow-based Oceanic Media Consulting, who organised many of the social and cultural events for the two visiting players.

A Celtic spokesman said: “We’d like to thank Oceanic who were crucial in assisting with the week’s activities.”

Novelist signs up as ‘The Daggers’ writer in residence

by
Novelist signs up as 'The Daggers' writer in residence

Novelist signs up as ‘The Daggers’ writer in residence

Dagenham and Redbridge FC have announced that they have signed their first ever writer in residence, Ian Ayris, the sports fiction and crime novelist and lifelong fan of the Daggers. He will be joining the club in a number of projects that are community related in a bid to bring football and writing together.

Ian has been attending matches at Victoria Road for more than 3 decades and is delighted to be able to play a part in both the club and the community. Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club managing director, Steve Thompson said, “Ian is a great fan of the club and we are happy to be working with him bringing football and increasing literary skills into the community. This will involve projects in schools and at the club engaging young people and fans of the club.”

Ian said, “Football clubs have a lot of influence with young people and in the community in general, especially clubs like The Daggers who are still very much a family club with family values. So it’s great to be here at the club I love and be able to work with them giving something back. I am looking forward to working with the club not just in schools but also on a project charting the history of the club with fans which we hope to produce as a book.”

Steve Thompson continued, “As a club we want to reach kids who have an interest in football at all levels. Not all will want to play or have the ability to make it as a professional footballer, but by making the most of their education they can broaden their options. Some may want to write about football or just improve their writing skills, and that’s where we as a club working with Ian, can give them inspiration.”

Ian’s novel, Abide with Me published by Caffeine Nights Publishing, hit the number one spot in Amazon’s sports fiction chart and is still the highest rated title in that section with over 50 reviews, including 44 5 star reviews. Part East End crime fiction, part passage of rites tale with football at its heart, Abide with Me is a moving tale charting the life of two boys given a raw deal in life.