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ITV News
15-07-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
Glenavon complete European fixture against German side 65 years later than planned
A football match that should have kicked-off 65 years ago has finally been completed. It was a game scrapped because of the Cold War, but now Glenavon and German side Erzgebirge Aue have fulfilled their European Cup tie. The story of this game dates back to the 1960-61 season. Glenavon, as Irish League Champions, and the East German league winners, then known as Wismut, were due to face-off in a European clash. However, visa issues and the Cold War's Iron Curtain meant the game never went ahead. Fast forward to 2025 and fans travelled by plane, train and even bike to witness the game first-hand. Lurgan became a sea of purple as more than one thousand fans of the German club made the trip and could be heard in fine voice as they marched their way to Mourneview Park. Glenavon manager Paddy McLaughlin said: "An unbelievable day. Full credit to everyone involved. A brilliant day out for everyone, for both clubs. "They came over in their numbers... and it made it an unbelievable occasion for Glenavon football club. "Absolutely delighted to be part of it. We can do nothing but thank the boys for coming over and making it a special occasion." Captain Barney McKeown said: "The atmosphere they brought was brilliant. "It gives us a bit of a taste of what European football could be like. "As much as pre-season isn't really about results, more about performances, we certainly got a performance out of it that we were pleased with and it's something to build on." It wasn't to be Glenavon's day, falling to a 2-0 defeat and a 7-0 loss overall on aggregate. More than half a century on, there's nothing but respect between these two clubs. A reminder how the beautiful game can bring people together again. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.
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.'
