Bat out of Val
Spain’s third largest urban area is a city of layers. It was founded by the Romans as Valentia, controlled by the Moors and overtaken by Christians accompanied by a lucky bat. The bat is now the symbol of the city, … Continued
Cretan hop
I picked up a cheap replica of the Phaistos disc in a tourist shop outside the Minoan palace of Knossos. The Phaistos disc, an inscribed clay circle housed in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, has never been translated. I pulled the tiny … Continued
Interview with a nomad
Ultimate traveller website NomadMania divides the world into 1,301 regions based on territory, population, diversity, economy and tourist appeal. I had visited 373 of the world’s 1,301 regions (England rank: 43 / International rank: 600) as at September 2021. NomadMania … Continued
A dog, a cat & 22 fans
posted in: 55 Football Nations, 55FN, Adventure, Book, Europe United, Media, San Marino, Travel, UEFA |
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After publishing a classic early interview in July 2017, the Guardian ran a second feature in October 2019. “A dog, a cat and 22 fans: watching European football’s worst top-flight team”, an edit of the San Marino chapter in Europe … Continued
Way out west
Santa Clara, the leading club from the Azores, are the most westerly team competing in top division European football. Europe United features a second-tier match when Santa Clara played at Varzim, overlooking a very different stretch of the Atlantic, in March 2018 … Continued
Portraits of Europe United
A flashback to the 55. Apart from watching the game, the only other thing I had to do was ask someone to take a photograph of me at every stadium. The backdrops varied whilst some 55FN photographers struggled with my … Continued
55FN teams and statistics
It became a pre-match ritual. I wrote down the previous matchday line-ups for the home and away sides in my notepad, the squad numbers and surnames an exciting foretaste of every step of my almighty challenge. As a result, I … Continued
‘Europe United’ published on 8 August 2019
I’m thrilled to announce that ‘Europe United: 1 football fan. 1 crazy season. 55 UEFA nations’ will be published on 8 August. It was always an ambition to write a book that captured the unique fusion of football, travel and my almighty challenge. … Continued
Skull and crossbars
Indonesia is a vast archipelago of beautiful landscapes, choking cities and fervent football fans. The country won the South East Asia Under 16 tournament for the first time this August to mass hysteria. I targeted three matches in Sumatra, the … Continued