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France 24
06-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Cancelled Cold war-era football tie finally completed after 65 years
Glenavon FC hosted FC Erzgebirge Aue -- known as Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt during the communist era -- in Lurgan, 25 miles (40 kilometres) west of Belfast. Over 1,000 away fans traveled from Germany to cheer on the visitors, who were East German champions in 1960. The original tie was scrapped after both teams -- on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe after World War II -- were denied entry visas during a period of heightened political tension. "Those were hard times, governments weren't talking, no-one was let in or out," John Duggan, 91, who played for Glenavon in 1960, told AFP in Lurgan before the game. Duggan was part of a powerful Glenavon side which was crowned 1959-60 Irish League champions, granting qualification for the European Cup. But despite Europe's governing body Uefa allowing the home and away legs to take place in neutral countries, Glenavon withdrew from the competition due to lack of funds. Saturday's unique match, organised as a pre-season friendly after fans from both teams got in touch to probe the idea of fulfilling the long-forgotten fixture, ended in a 2-0 win for the German side. The game followed a "first-leg" of the rematch last year in Aue – 185 miles (300 kilometres) south of Berlin - which was won 5-0 by the Germans. 'Politics paused, football endured' The completion of the tie was "a missing chapter for both club's histories, it's great to finally get it played," Adam Carson, lifelong Glenavon fan and the club's supporter liaison officer, told AFP. "Politics paused it, but football endured," said Carson, who originally hatched the idea. When Glenavon qualified for European competition in 2014 Carson noticed that there was a European Cup game in 1960 that was never played and "put a couple of tweets" about it, he said. The idea was that "wouldn't it be great to go across to Germany and actually play this game 60 years later," he said. Carson's messages on social media were spotted by counterparts at the German side - who currently play in the third division of the Bundesliga - and a bond between the two clubs was forged. FC Erzgebirge Aue fan and its volunteer press official Max Richter, who first contacted Carson about a link-up, said that "today we close this little gap in our history and play this game which never happened. "The years when we were champions were in the 1950s and '60s, our club was big then, for all our fans that love the history of our club it was very important to be here," he told AFP. Robert Turkington, a Glenavon fan who was born in 1948 and has followed them since the 1950s "when we were a great side", remembers the original game's cancellation. "I was only a kid but I remember people were disappointed, today is just brilliant to see," he told AFP with a beaming smile. Glenavon fan Gareth Bridges, who went to the first leg in Germany, said that "a real camaraderie has developed between both sets of supporters. "Hopefully it is something that can develop between the two clubs into the future as well," the 39-year-old told AFP.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cancelled Cold war-era football tie finally completed after 65 years
The original tie was scrapped after both teams, on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe after World War II, were denied entry visas (Peter MURPHY) A European football tie cancelled due to Cold War-era tensions was finally completed in Northern Ireland on Saturday, 65 years on from its original schedule in 1960. Glenavon FC hosted FC Erzgebirge Aue -- known as Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt during the communist era -- in Lurgan, 25 miles (40 kilometres) west of Belfast. Advertisement Over 1,000 away fans traveled from Germany to cheer on the visitors, who were East German champions in 1960. The original tie was scrapped after both teams -- on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe after World War II -- were denied entry visas during a period of heightened political tension. "Those were hard times, governments weren't talking, no-one was let in or out," John Duggan, 91, who played for Glenavon in 1960, told AFP in Lurgan before the game. Duggan was part of a powerful Glenavon side which was crowned 1959-60 Irish League champions, granting qualification for the European Cup. Advertisement But despite Europe's governing body Uefa allowing the home and away legs to take place in neutral countries, Glenavon withdrew from the competition due to lack of funds. Saturday's unique match, organised as a pre-season friendly after fans from both teams got in touch to probe the idea of fulfilling the long-forgotten fixture, ended in a 2-0 win for the German side. The game followed a "first-leg" of the rematch last year in Aue – 185 miles (300 kilometres) south of Berlin - which was won 5-0 by the Germans. - 'Politics paused, football endured' - The completion of the tie was "a missing chapter for both club's histories, it's great to finally get it played," Adam Carson, lifelong Glenavon fan and the club's supporter liaison officer, told AFP. Advertisement "Politics paused it, but football endured," said Carson, who originally hatched the idea. When Glenavon qualified for European competition in 2014 Carson noticed that there was a European Cup game in 1960 that was never played and "put a couple of tweets" about it, he said. The idea was that "wouldn't it be great to go across to Germany and actually play this game 60 years later," he said. Carson's messages on social media were spotted by counterparts at the German side - who currently play in the third division of the Bundesliga - and a bond between the two clubs was forged. Advertisement FC Erzgebirge Aue fan and its volunteer press official Max Richter, who first contacted Carson about a link-up, said that "today we close this little gap in our history and play this game which never happened. "The years when we were champions were in the 1950s and '60s, our club was big then, for all our fans that love the history of our club it was very important to be here," he told AFP. Robert Turkington, a Glenavon fan who was born in 1948 and has followed them since the 1950s "when we were a great side", remembers the original game's cancellation. "I was only a kid but I remember people were disappointed, today is just brilliant to see," he told AFP with a beaming smile. Advertisement Glenavon fan Gareth Bridges, who went to the first leg in Germany, said that "a real camaraderie has developed between both sets of supporters. "Hopefully it is something that can develop between the two clubs into the future as well," the 39-year-old told AFP. pmu/jj
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Champions League: Irish League and German clubs to fulfil European Cup tie, 65 years later
When Glenavon FC were crowned 1959/60 Irish League champions and qualified for the European Cup no-one could have guessed that it would be another 65 years before the fixture would take place. The team were drawn against Erzgebirge Aue, but were forced to withdraw when the club was refused visas for East Germany due to the Iron Curtain that divided Europe during the Cold a new generation of German football fans will descend on County Armagh on Saturday to watch their team finally fulfil the ill-fated fixture in a special pre-season chairman Glenn Emerson said the stadium will be "rocking" with the atmosphere the away fans are expected to bring, with around 1,100 German fans expected to parade through Lurgan on their way to Mourneview Park. Erzgebirge Aue - known as Wismut in those years - were East German champions and were also denied entry to the UK by the British embassy in Uefa allowing the home and away legs to take place in neutral countries, Glenavon was forced to withdraw from the competition as it was not financially a huge effort by both clubs and their fans to see the fixtures played out, Glenavon travelled to Erzgebirge Aue's 16,500-seater Erzgebirgsstadion in Aue – 184 miles south of Berlin – last summer to fulfil the 'away' the 3. Liga professional outfit are coming to Northern Ireland. It all started with a tweet Glenavon's supporters' liaison officer Adam Carson said the idea of playing the games came about after he posted a tweet to gauge if there was any interest."It was more of a joke than anything and eventually about three years ago, some of Erzgebirge's fans actually got in contact with me and really liked the idea," he explained."We started to build relationships to see how we could move things forward. From there, I got friendly with a couple of their supporters, Max and Thomas."They eventually came over to a Glenavon game a few years back against Larne and they enjoyed the experience."About a year after that Max came back with their sporting director and official contact was made from there." Adam said the Erzgebirge Aue fans have been planning their trip to Northern Ireland for months, while the local community has rallied behind the idea of welcoming the German fans in what will be a unique game for both clubs."When we first started talking about having this game it was basically to celebrate two championship winning teams that didn't get the chance to play against each other," he said."The local community and our supporters seem to be getting behind it so they're really looking forward to it." 'An honour to play the game' Erzgebirge Aue's sports director Matthias Heidrich said the focus of the day will be the relationship between the two clubs and not the final described it as an "honour" to take part in the game and said the Glenavon fans can expect a great atmosphere from the Erzgebirge Aue support."I think the away support, in my point of view, there is more power, there is more passion behind it," he said."We are proud of our fans and what they do for us. We think they are a big and emotional part of our club and they try to push us in every game but, from my point of view, the final result isn't important."The friendship, the history and the closure of the chapter [to see the matches played] are the big headlines around this game." Away tickets sold in 'matter of days' The Glenavon chairman said while the club has hosted European games in the past, this friendly will be "massive" as away fans tend not to travel in large numbers in the early stages of European competition."We sent them 750 tickets and they were all gone in a matter of days," explained Glenn."We sent them another 500 so you're looking at probably in the region of 1,200 German fans descending on this place so it's going to be pretty busy."If their home match is anything to go by when we played over there in Germany last summer it'll be rocking because they like to do the old bouncy, bouncy as you can imagine." 'Everyone is doing their bit' Glenavon's Leigh McClune, who organised last year's trip to Germany, has been working hard behind the scenes to welcome Erzgebirge Aue to Mourneview Park and said preparations for Saturday's game began before Christmas."There's been an awful lot to do in regards to their travel arrangements, organising where they're staying, organising how long they're staying, organising training pitches and then we have to sort out meals for them every day," she added that between the committee put together to stage the game and club volunteers, everyone is doing their bit to make the day a success."Everybody is playing their part and they have their own jobs to do at the same time but they're all taking time out to organise this and make it a really successful day," she said.
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
The game the cold war scrapped finally set for kick-off 65 years later
It has taken 65 years, the end of the cold war and some deft social media networking for Glenavon Football Club to finally complete their tie against the former wunderkinds of East Germany, Erzgebirge Aue. The two teams will meet at the Northern Ireland club's Mourneview Park stadium in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Saturday to play the second leg of a tie originally scheduled for 1960 and 1961. About a thousand fans from Germany, including a motorcade of bikers, are expected to join Glenavon fans for the friendly, a mix of history, sentiment and unfinished business. Both clubs had enjoyed domestic success in the 50s – for Glenavon in particular a golden, unrepeated era – and qualified for the 1960-61 European Cup. However, political tension between the west and the Soviet bloc meant the Irish League champions could not obtain visas to play the German club, then known as Wismut, at their stadium in Saxony, about 200 miles south of Berlin, and behind the Iron Curtain. Nor could the East German league champions obtain visas for Northern Ireland. Uefa allowed home and away legs to be played in neutral countries but Glenavon could not afford that and the games were scrapped. After the Berlin wall fell in 1989 and Germany reunited, Wismut was renamed Erzgebirge Aue and hovered around the third tier of the Bundesliga. 'It had been confined to history and forgotten about,' Glenn Emerson, the chairman of Glenavon, said on Thursday. 'Then Adam and a couple of guys had this idea: 'What if?' That's how it all started.' Emerson was referring Adam Carson, Glenavon's supporter liaison officer, who about four years ago mused online about what would have happened had the teams met. 'A couple of their supporters actually picked up on the tweets and stuff that I had been sending out,' Carson told the Belfast Telegraph. 'And they got in touch with me and we just kept talking, and eventually two of the supporters I had been chatting to actually came over here to a Glenavon match. I showed them about, took them to another Irish league game the following day, took them into town for an Ulster fry.' The fans stayed in touch, leading to the clubs making official contact and agreeing to belated home and away ties. The Northern Ireland team played the Germans at Erzgebirgsstadion, their stadium in Aue-Bad Schlema, last July. The visitors lost 5–0 but their fans savoured the trip. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'The welcome we got when we went over there was second to none,' said Carson. 'I always say to people, if we were lucky enough to play in Europe every single year, from now to the end of time, we'll never get another welcome like the way we did last year at Aue.' Glenavon plan to return the warmth this weekend when the Germans, including an estimated 300 members of the Violent Bikers – the club's motorbike supporters' club – arrive in Lurgan. There will be a parade through the town – and introductions to Buckfast, also known as Lurgan champagne – before kick-off at 2pm. A handful of players from the 1960-61 squad are still alive, said Emerson. 'We're hoping to get at least one of them down for the game.'
Belfast Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
1,100 German fans to march in Lurgan for fixture the Cold War delayed by 65 years
More than a thousand German football fans will descend on Lurgan this weekend for the second leg of a match 65 years in the making. Glenavon FC, who qualified for the European Cup as Irish League champions, were prevented from completing their 1960–61 tie against FC Erzgebirge Aue when the Cold War stopped the club from crossing the Iron Curtain.
