Northern Ireland v Austria

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

On behalf of the Irish Football Association it gives me great pleasure to welcome the players and officials of Austria to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast for this evening’s UEFA Nations League Group 1 game in League B.

It has been a challenging time for our sport throughout the last six months as the Covid-19 pandemic changed the way we carry out even the most basic things in the daily round of life. The effort put in by UEFA was rewarded with all the scheduled Nations League games in September being played. A spirited performance with 10 players for more than half the game in Bucharest achieved Northern Ireland’s first point in this the second edition of the Nations League and our first ever point in the competition; all four matches in 2018 ended in defeat. However, Norway arrived in Belfast a few days later and claimed all three points, winning by a 5-1 scoreline. Sandwiched between the first and second rounds of Nations League fixtures was the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated UEFA EURO 2020 play-off semi-final match in Sarajevo against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was staged last Thursday. The draw had been made in November of last year and, when we eventually got to play, the night in Sarajevo belonged to Northern Ireland. The game went the full distance with Northern Ireland coming out on top after an exciting penalty shoot-out. It was a magnificent achievement away from home against a very good side. Slovakia won the other semi- final and will travel to Belfast for the final next month. Two of the games in the 2018 Nations League were closely contested affairs against tonight’s visitors Austria, who won by the odd goal on both occasions. Of course those games were played at a point in time when there were full stadia.

Playing in an empty, or almost empty, stadium as we are doing tonight is strange and everyone at the association looks forward to supporters being permitted to return in large numbers some time soon. The staff at the Irish FA have been working closely with local government throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we are in a position to facilitate 600 fans at tonight’s game. To the 600 drawn by ballot and in attendance tonight, I hope you enjoy an exciting game. Be safe around the stadium and also on you journey home. I am sure many of our supporters will not only be watching the game on television but availing of the opportunity to peruse this souvenir match programme issued online but also with a limited edition in print form. I hope it is an exciting game of football tonight and that our visitors have a safe journey home. I also hope it’s an entertaining encounter when Northern Ireland complete their October series of games with a visit to Norway on Wednesday. Finally, congratulations to Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis on becoming our country’s most capped player of all time when he made his 120th appearance in Sarajevo, playing the full 120 minutes. A memorable milestone for Steven and

richly deserved. David J Martin President Irish Football Association

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