theballisround

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Football in the Faroe Islands

13th to 15th September 2024 We all have bucket list trips. Those football adventures to places often far, sometimes near, which we long to go to. For me, a trip to the Faroe Islands has been number one on my list for well over a decade. The most common question I had to answer before the trip, and since I returned when asked, was “where exactly are the Faroes?”. A fair question as the country…

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Bromley 2 AFC Wimbledon 0

Saturday 17th August 2024 – EFL League Two – Hayes Lane, Bromley Fifteen years ago this month I visited Hayes Lane for the first time. Despite living almost on the doorstep for over a decade I’d never had a compelling reason to visit. Back then, Non-League football was something people went to watch not through choice but desperation. I thought I was a happy Premier League fan, but deep down I…

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Coleraine 0 Linfield 3

Saturday 28th September 2024 – Sports Direct Premiership – Coleraine, Northern Ireland After parking my car on one of the side streets off Ballycastle Road, I got into step with a family heading to the game against league leaders Linfield. They were raving about the work Coleraine Football Club had delivered to improve their position in the local community, and as we reached the entrance to the…

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Egypt 2 Spain 1

Tuesday 30th July 2024 – Olympic Football Tournament – Stade Atlantique, Bordeaux

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AC Milan 5 Cagliari 1

11th May 2024 – Serie A – The San Siro, Milan, Italy

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England 0 Slovenia 0

25th June 2024 – The European Championships – RheinEnergie Stadion, Koln, Germany

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Institute 2 Dundela 4

17th February 2024 – Northern Ireland Championship – The Ryan Bandywell Stadium, Derry Londonderry, Northern Ireland

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The Fenix Trophy - Finals Weekend

9-12th May 2024 – Desenzano del Garda, Italy – Lewes, Enfield Town, FC United of Manchester, Prague Raptors

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France 1 Poland 1

25th June 2024 – The European Championships – The Westfalonstadion, Dortmund, Germany My plan for the Euros had been organised for months. I had tickets for the three England games and was to supplement them with a game or two in-between.  Nothing crazy or excessive, but enough to say and feel I’d done the tournament.  I don’t like to leave things until the last minute and so as soon as flights…

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FC Koln 0 SC Freiburg 0

4th May 2024 – Bundesliga – RheinEnergie Stadion, Koln, Germany

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Wuppertaler SV 2 Rot Weiss Ahlen 1

4th May 2024 – Regionalliga West – Stadion am Zoo, Wuppertal, Germany

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FC Oslo 1 Lewes 1

20th March 2024 – The Fenix Trophy – Røa Kunstgress, Oslo, Norway If you think trying to organise a game away in Europe, I’m happy to share a piece of valuable advice for free.  Don’t.  Stop dreaming about expanding your cultural horizons, the thrill of overseas travel and the chance to try new snacks. It is as stressful as organising a child’s birthday party, whilst moving house and having a…

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Lillestrøm SK 3 Strømsgodset IF 1

13th July 2024 – Eliteserien – Åråsen Stadion, Lillestrøm, Norway The Åråsen stadium had been on my radar for years.  On my monthly visits to Oslo for work over a period of three years, the train from the airport would tantalisingly slow down as it approached Lillestrøm station, allowing me a view inside the stadium that hugged the train line just outside of the town centre.  In the long winter…

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Stabæk IF 3 Sogndal IL 3

13th July 2024 – Mid-season friendly – Nadderud Stadion, Bekkestua, Norway There is an unwritten rule that states you can’t play a friendly against another team in your own league.  However, the lure of vast wealth put pay to that gentlemen’s agreement in recent years, with Premier League clubs happy to take on each other in various parts around the world during the close season, then moaning…

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Sarpsborg 08 4 Rosenborg BK 1

Friday 12th July 2024 – Eliteserien – Adgang Stadion, Sarpsborg, Norway Of course we all believed, but did we really believe? I didn’t which was why I’m sitting in the press box at the Sarpsborg Stadion, home of Sarpsborg 08 watching them take on Rosenborg BK rather than making my way to Berlin for the final of the European Championships. I’d booked this little jaunt two months ago, not long…

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Nashville SC 1 Atlanta United 1

Saturday 18th May 2024 – MLS Eastern Conference – Geodis Park, Nashville Such is the geographic distances in the US that this game was considered to be a local derby. Whilst it is only a 40 minute flight from Atlanta to Nashville, the two cities are some 250 miles apart. But that didn’t stop Atlanta, who are the best supported team in the MLS, bringing a sizeable support to Tennessee. My travel…

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Panathinaikos 3 PAS Lamia 1

14th April 2024 – Super League – Stadio Apóstolos Nikolaidis, Athens, Greece In December, the Greek authorities ruled that all Super League games would be played behind closed doors, for the foreseeable future after escalating violence between clubs which culminated in a police officer being killed in a volleyball match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.  Trouble was never too far away at…