“They can come true yeah. They can come true” – Gabrielle (Dreams). Before you read this, look at the above photo and watch Omam Biyick’s legendary header below. I watched it live after school in June 1990 in Marlo in Bangor, Northern Ireland. I wanted Cameroon to win. I loved it. I love it. I…
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November 2022 was the scheduled release of a 42 year in making book, my epic ChampIAN STEWARTnova. Following the Northern Ireland football team 1980-2009. In true irony, the only parts of that book that remain in full are the only TWO parts NOT done by me. 1.The cover art and design. I have them on…
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My New Football Book: ChampIAN STEWARTnova – Following the Northern Ireland Football Team 1980 – 2009 is currently in its final edits. This took a lot longer than I anticipated – the writing was basically completed by October 2010, but one thing after another led to delays. Many chapters had to be skipped, cut, replaced,…
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“His taints and honours; waged equal with him” – William Shakespeare. The curtain falls in the city of Buenos Aires. Tears flood the streets and a city mourns in heavenly rest. And you know why it does. DAM. Diego Armando Maradona. Modern day wannabes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo simply don’t even come close. Diego…
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Today I thought I would publish a list of countries that have won the World Cup since the official FIFA tournament began in 1930. Down the years I have been to 4 World Cups, not including the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. I actually attended quite a few Milk Cups from around 1992 – 1997,…
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“Schillaci, yes….it’s that man again” – British TV commentator, 1990. My ubiquitous love affair with football dates back to the 1980s. I was a kid in the Northern Irish seaside resort of Bangor with a green international football shirt, a green and white ball and a passion for everything football. The 1982 and 1986 World…
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“Mussolini hangs from a butcher’s hook” – Richey James Edwards. I love the World Cup. It is the most magnificent tournament in the world. It is the reason I fell in love with travel and football all in one. Mexico 86. I had the Panini sticker album, my Dad bought me a Northern Ireland scarf,…
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“Gerry Armstrong, what a worker he is” – John Motson. In February 2020, when I hit country 186 on my personal list of recognised separate states, one of my priorities was to watch a football match there. That country was Lesotho and I arrived into the capital city Maseru ready for the big match. That…
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As we travel to countries torn apart by war (past or current), let’s not forget that football is the people’s game, the one happy medium from my journeys through a century of countries. Football brings the people together and in most cases, it acts as some kind of peaceful entity between people. Anyone who has…
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Here goes. This is a big one. A big one for me personally. Every single time I hear the mention of Maradona, Norman Whiteside, Jose Batista, Joel Bats etc. I get inspired. The 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico were my first major childhood memory. Northern Ireland qualified. We punched well above our weight, defying…
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