In life these odd coincidences happen that affect where you are and what you do at a certain time. I ended up watching ladies football in Belarus! It was all through Shaun Schofield and the fact that we met in Gillingham in Kent to watch the football match between Northern Ireland and England. We made plans to head to an away game and the next one was in Belarus, so that's where we went! I say 'we', but Shaun had to pull out due to work commitments. I was on a round the world trip and timed it so that I was in Moscow the day before and then flew to Minsk in Belarus before boarding a train to Bobruisk. I was the only Northern Ireland fan at the match!
The team trained at the stadium of Belshina Bobruisk in this obscure Belarussian city. Manager of Northern Ireland ladies is Alfie Wylie and he gave a speech to inspire the girls before the match. Team captain presented me with a signed shirt from the entire Northern Ireland ladies team - a prized possession and a memory to linger forever. I sat down in the stadium as the only travelling football fan at the match. It was inspiring.
In the hotel in Bobruisk I met an Irish Australian guy called Owen and him and his mate Albert joined me in the Northern Irish end for the match. I sang my heart of for 90 minutes to inspire the Northern Ireland ladies team against Belarus, but we went 1-0 down in the first half and never recovered. The final score was 5-0 but I sang loud and proud for the entire match. Belarus had won and I had enjoyed the match. The locals didn't seem to appreciate my singing too much as the police had to escort me from them towards the end! It was all a bit of fun.
I had to wait outside the stadium after the game and was mobbed by about 30 kids from Belarus who had warmed to my madness and crowded round me looking for presents. In the end all I gave was a Northern Ireland bottle opener to a kid who was happy to receive it. These kids were obviously still very poor and drenched in the aftermath of the soviet regime, still not commercialised like Western Europe. So I felt sorry for them, but could not give them anything more. I then caught the bus with the team back to Minsk, where I enjoyed the sights of Victory Square, the Parliament Building and the token Irish pub (random going all this way and then trying the Irish pub - the first pub I saw opposite the government building and called Drozhzhy United!!), which I popped in for a pint.
My journey to Belarus was interesting and moving. It was now over and I would head to Warsaw next in lovely Poland...
Match statistics:
Belarus 5 - 0 Northern Ireland
(5 different goalscorers)
Beers Tried - Grinitska, Dnyaprouskaye.
Bars Visited - Minsk Airport Bar, Hotel Minsk, Drozhzhy United Irish Pub.
The team trained at the stadium of Belshina Bobruisk in this obscure Belarussian city. Manager of Northern Ireland ladies is Alfie Wylie and he gave a speech to inspire the girls before the match. Team captain presented me with a signed shirt from the entire Northern Ireland ladies team - a prized possession and a memory to linger forever. I sat down in the stadium as the only travelling football fan at the match. It was inspiring.
In the hotel in Bobruisk I met an Irish Australian guy called Owen and him and his mate Albert joined me in the Northern Irish end for the match. I sang my heart of for 90 minutes to inspire the Northern Ireland ladies team against Belarus, but we went 1-0 down in the first half and never recovered. The final score was 5-0 but I sang loud and proud for the entire match. Belarus had won and I had enjoyed the match. The locals didn't seem to appreciate my singing too much as the police had to escort me from them towards the end! It was all a bit of fun.
I had to wait outside the stadium after the game and was mobbed by about 30 kids from Belarus who had warmed to my madness and crowded round me looking for presents. In the end all I gave was a Northern Ireland bottle opener to a kid who was happy to receive it. These kids were obviously still very poor and drenched in the aftermath of the soviet regime, still not commercialised like Western Europe. So I felt sorry for them, but could not give them anything more. I then caught the bus with the team back to Minsk, where I enjoyed the sights of Victory Square, the Parliament Building and the token Irish pub (random going all this way and then trying the Irish pub - the first pub I saw opposite the government building and called Drozhzhy United!!), which I popped in for a pint.
My journey to Belarus was interesting and moving. It was now over and I would head to Warsaw next in lovely Poland...
Match statistics:
Belarus 5 - 0 Northern Ireland
(5 different goalscorers)
Beers Tried - Grinitska, Dnyaprouskaye.
Bars Visited - Minsk Airport Bar, Hotel Minsk, Drozhzhy United Irish Pub.
About the Author:
To read more extraordinary articles like Ladies football in Belarus head to Jonny Blair's fantastic website called Don't Stop Living for ongoing travel stories and tips.
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