World Football Quest

One of the (unfortunately) oldest examples of nationalist problems in the "first world", Northern Ireland has been a focus of political instability for centuries, since there's people who wants to be part of Ireland (and be just one country in the island) and the rest who wants to stay as a member of the United Kingdom. At the moment, this last situation is the one that is "official" right now, but we have to keep an eye on it, considering what is happening in Scotland. Apart of its political situation, Northern Ireland is not very different of what you can find in the UK or Ireland, at least as far as I know and if I'm wrong in anything, sorry!

Sports in Northern Ireland are quite similar to other parts of Ireland or the UK, being Football and Rugby the most popular sports. One curious thing is that Northern Ireland has its own FA, while the Irish Rugby Football Union represents both Ireland and Northern Ireland at the same time, this happens too with Cricket and possibly with other sports. The Northern Ireland football team is one of the oldest in the world, if we consider it as the same team that represented the whole Ireland island from 1882 to 1920. The national team exists officially since 1954, when the FIFA decided to end the issues with both Irish federations. Maybe the most recognized player of Northern Ireland football is, without doubt, George Best, who won many individual and collective trophies in many clubs, especially at Manchester United.

The shirt I've just added to my collection is the home shirt from 2010, when they failed to get a place in that year's World Cup in South Africa. Even though it's a very simple and a bit plain design, I really like it, since green is one of my favourite colours and the badge is quite beautiful I think. It came directly from Poland, where I found it on ebay for less than 9€, so it was a great bargain considering it's almost new.