IFA Programme 2016

IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME

There are some things you just can’t live without. Ormo Veda, a good plate of boiled spuds and butter, brown lemonade… you know the sort of thing.

throughout Northern Ireland, from Castlederg to Larne and from Newry to Eglinton, dream of wearing the green shirt and being the next Steven Davis or Kyle Lafferty. Michael O’Neill is a man in demand talking to business men and women and feted wherever he goes – and why not? But for all the glamour of France there is something very special about World Cup matches in Belfast in the autumn. I have very fond memories of such matches – the crisp autumnal evening air, the crunch of the fallen leaves as we traverse the Railway Bridge from the Lisburn Road, not too cold, but not warm enough to go without some sort of a coat. This is the time of year that football was made for, and here we are ready to go again. Football never stops (if it did we would be frozen some time in 1958). So with the exploits of France firmly behind us and suitably banked (the end of 30 years of hurt), we are ready to start again on another grand adventure in our wonderful stadium. What a delight this stadium is, our stadium, not too big as to lose the raw Belfast roar, but sparkling in its newness. Great sightlines, comfy seats. So all is set. The harvest moon is waxing, the autumnal chill settling in our bones and

And to add to that list what about international football at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park? Since Michael O’Neill and the team headed off to France via Austria and Slovakia having ceremoniously dispatched Belarus here on May 27, Belfast has been devoid of live international football for 134 days; fanzones are fine but they don’t beat the real thing. That’s 134 days (over a third of a year) that we have been without a Lafferty goal or a Jonny Evans interception. Yes, since then we have experienced the delights of France, enjoyed the accolades, suffered excitement and despair, cheered, grumped, sang Will Grigg’s On Fire–ed. In other words, we have been football fans. And yet for all the sun and blue skies of Nice, for all the thunder and hailstorms of Lyon, for all the history and grandeur of Paris, football at home at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the return of the wee team in green to where they undoubtedly belong, is a truly significant event. The stadium is to all intents and purposes completed. There are 18,500 seats on all four sides of the ground. When was the last time we saw that at a Belfast international? We have corporate boxes, the lounges named after international icons - Best, Blanchflower, Jennings and Bingham - and the wonderful press gallery named after another icon, Malcolm Brodie. Success, as they say, breeds success so tickets are at a premium. Children

international football back home. What else could anyone ask for? Words: William Campbell

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