Crusaders skipper to leave club after 11 years at Seaview: ‘He's a leader and a winner'
The defender made an impressive 423 appearances for the Crues, scoring 33 goals in the process. During that time, the north Belfast club won three Irish League titles and three Irish Cups.
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Belfast Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Gambia international goalkeeper will be a real hit at Crusaders, maintains boss Declan Caddell
Beaming head coach Declan Caddell believes Crusaders is the perfect environment for new goalkeeper Musa Dibaga to enhance his game after recruiting the Gambia international to his squad on a two-year deal. The Crues chief has backed the 6'4' shot-stopper, who links up with the north Belfast outfit after a spell with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, to impress the Seaview faithful and prove his worth in the Sports Direct Premiership.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Irish League odyssey for European football groundhoppers
Groundhopping is proving a popular attraction for Irish League football clubs, with more people travelling from outside the UK to visit involves attending football matches at as many different grounds as enthusiasts from the Netherlands and Germany are among those visiting Northern Ireland as football tourism extends to these Christmas, Dutch football groundhopper Mathijs Kros celebrated the festive season in Belfast, with four Irish League games in a row, including the Steel and Sons Cup Final on 25 December. He is a big fan of Irish League football."I like the banter in the stands and the fact that there is a real connection between the players and the fans if you go to a game," he said. 'The grounds have a soul' "The previous year, I was looking at my boring Christmas dinner in the Netherlands and thinking: 'Next year I will be in Belfast'," he added."This season, I was able to go to the Steel and Sons Cup Final on Christmas Day, the north Belfast derby between Crusaders and Cliftonville on Boxing Day, the east Belfast derby between Dundela and Harland and Wolff Welders on 27 December and a game involving Portstewart and Knockbreda Parish on 28 December."I had all my Christmases at once."Mr Kros has supported Cliftonville FC in the Irish Premiership since 2013 and makes the trip to Northern Ireland four times a season to attend games. Wouter Schollema, also from the Netherlands, has visited various stadia in Northern Ireland for more than a decade and is the author of a book about the history of football in Belfast."What I like most about the Irish league is that it is still the pure football, the grounds have a soul and stories attached to them," he said. "The Premier League in England is expensive and it is plastic fantastic."He has taken in a game in each of his 25 visits to Belfast."I went to Loughgall last year for their game against Crusaders, as it was the smallest settlement in Europe to have a top-flight club - it was a brilliant experience."He also visited Belfast last year with 20 people and visited a number of grounds. From Bologna to the Brandywell Groundhopper Ross Lee, from Paisley in Scotland, has visited more than 700 stadia in 26 countries, with his partner Nicola Stevenson visiting more than Lee said this had included trips to grounds in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Friday, the couple will be at the Brandywell in Londonderry to take in Derry City's League of Ireland Premier Division fixture against Galway United, fresh from a trip to Bologna FC in Italy's Serie A, last month."In the Irish League, I have been at Glentoran's ground, The Oval, which is a mecca for groundhoppers, as well as Linfield, Harland and Wolff Welders, Coleraine and Portstewart," he said."I have also been at the grounds of Bohemians and Sligo Rovers in the League of believes the two leagues are "more authentic" than the likes of the Premier League in England and the Bundesliga in Germany."You get more craic and the grounds are more interesting."Mr Lee said trips were also about exploring the history and culture of a place. This is also highlighted by Chris Lee, the English author of a new book, Shades of Green, which saw him groundhopping across the island of Ireland while charting its "rich football history"."I love [Glentoran's ground], the Oval, that's my favourite stadium in Europe," he said."It's a time capsule, so unique."Cliftonville's Solitude ground is special too, with that old stand. "It's the oldest football ground on the island of Ireland and where the first international penalty was taken – and missed." Berlin to Belfast John Moore takes supporters on tours of Glentoran's stadium, the Oval, and said that hardly a week passes when there is not a group of groundhoppers from Europe visiting."They are mostly Dutch, Belgians, Germans and French," he Moore said there had been an upsurge of groundhoppers at the Oval in recent years."With the international football break, the Irish League still goes on, and people can take in a couple of games," he said relatively cheap flights from some European cities to Dublin and Belfast helped. Sam North of Footy Adventures visits stadia across the UK and Europe, documenting it all on social has made six visits to Northern Ireland since June North said his content relating to the Irish League had garnered millions of views from all over the world."I absolutely love it. I think the one drawback of doing it in other parts of the UK would be that the countries are so big, but within Northern Ireland, it is all so close," he added."The passion is so good and the local fan base is incredible."Mr North said that as well as groundhoppers being attracted by the "old school" feel of some stadia in Northern Ireland, the physical element of some play was also "a throwback to how football used to be". Fund for improvements More than 40 football clubs in Northern Ireland can now apply for money from a £36.2m fund which was initially announced 14 years aim of the Northern Ireland Football Fund is to improve sporting facilities for players and supporters. An estimated £200m is needed to bring facilities in Northern Ireland up to the required North welcomes the funding for stadia, but he said it was important that the character of grounds in Northern Ireland is retained in any refurbishment."I just hope they can keep the history of the grounds as they are right now, but maybe give them a few modern touches."
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland captain Simone Magill says Play-Off destiny is in sqaud's hands ahead of Bosnia clash
Those who are full-time professionals will go off on their summer break, while an immediate refocus to domestic action this weekend will be the case for those who play for Irish League clubs. There is no major tournament to look forward to, no place in the sun a la Southampton three years ago for the Women's Euro 2022 Finals. While the cream of Europe is battling it out for the right to be called the best team on the continent, Northern Ireland will be watching on. That doesn't mean the final Women's Nations League group game is without meaning. Far from it. Where Northern Ireland finish in the table and what comes next are hugely important in the context of obtaining a first World Cup qualification and the potential for at least a guaranteed qualification Play-Off. That's what comes with being a League A team, which Tanya Oxtoby's side have ambitions to be and, while automatic Uefa Nations League promotion is no longer within reach after Friday night's 4-0 defeat to Poland, that ambition is still achievable. Indeed unless things go badly wrong for Northern Ireland against Bosnia & Herzegovina, a Play-Off for a place in League A awaits and the World Cup becomes a realistic aim, even if there would still be much work to do in terms of at least winning two Play-Off contests over the next couple of years. Even a single goal defeat would secure second place in the group and finishing a place higher than the 2023 Nations League, with promotion to play for rather than a fight to avoid relegation, would be the kind of success the team has been striving for. 'We spoke at the start of this campaign about our aim and that is still very much in our control and I think that is the most important thing,' said captain Simone Magill. 'If we can go and get the result we want then that's been success for us. It would be a special feeling (to get to League A). We spoke about after qualifying for the last major tournament that we didn't want it to be a one-off, we wanted to be in the mix again and getting promotion to League A would do exactly that, it would start to put us back in the mix and get us closer to being back where we want to be.' The safety net of a three point cushion ahead of both Bosnia and Romania isn't something that manager Oxtoby wants to have to rely on — the head-to-head record already means that Romania can't get into second place and the thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Bosnia gives Northern Ireland an advantage as things stand. The three wins against the Bosnians in the last 15 months aren't in Oxtoby's mind either. Her reign has been something of a roller-coaster since taking charge in September 2023. Now the hope is that with everything in Northern Ireland's hands, there is a smooth ending to this campaign, ready for a rise again come October with the carrot of taking someone's League A status from them. 'We know that we are in a really good position where we can affect our own destiny and that's what we wanted going into this game,' said Oxtoby. 'The job is certainly not done, We are by no means expecting to turn up and the result to be ours. 'We need to make sure that we are fully focused and we go 100 miles an hour after it. 'I would just be so happy for the players because it has been a tough window and a tough campaign and that reward for all the effort that everyone has put in would be the most pleasing thing.'
