Europe's 55 football nations in one season
55 Football Nations completed the marathon eight nation leg to Taraz and back with Lithuania and Latvia. Photo highlights from two comfortable home wins in the Baltics – Zalgiris 5-0 Utena in Vilnius and Spartaks 2-0 Riga in sleepy Jūrmala.
55 Football Nations watched league matches in Ufa, Tula (both Russia), Vitebsk and Minsk (both Belarus). Photo highlights from the four games, host cities and major Russian hubs of Yekaterinburg and Moscow.
Russia is massive. Everything is large. The roads and buildings, the men and their egos. 55 Football Nations was keen to experience a slightly more intimate slice of this huge country and shunned football in Moscow and St Petersburg. The … Continued
55 Football Nations spent eleven days in the curious country of Kazakhstan. Photo highlights from Taraz v Aktobe and visits to cosmopolitan Almaty, dusty Shymkent, beautiful Turkistan and the very modern capital of Astana.
55 Football Nations has met some interesting, fanatical and helpful people on its journey through nine nations. But few as great as Eric from Taraz in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country and its Premier League is a … Continued
55FN overcame the minefields of Mariehamn (cyclists and a lawnmower!) to explain why he’s undertaking his challenge to experience a top division league match in all 55 UEFA nations in one season. 55 Football Nations is about experiencing different football cultures. … Continued
55 Football Nations started the journey to Taraz and back with visits to Sweden, Finland and Estonia. Photo highlights from Gothenburg (BK Häcken v Hammarby), the Åland Islands, an autonomous region of Finland (IFK Mariehamn v Ilves) and the beautiful Baltic city of … Continued
55 Football Nations is not just about watching football. It’s about meeting and talking to those involved in the game. A colleague’s brother put me in touch with Toni Kallio, the Ilves coach, capped 49 times for Finland. We couldn’t … Continued
55 Football Nations likes to stray off the beaten path. And did so by choosing BK Häcken as their welcoming hosts for its Swedish first division match. BK Häcken are not a historic Gothenburg club. IFK are the most popular, with their many … Continued
55 Football Nations met Malin Jonsson, head of comms at BK Häcken, to talk about why I chose Häcken v Hammarby as my match from the Swedish league. I was presented with a thick yellow and black scarf to show my … Continued