Northern Ireland v Belarus (15/11/2024)

There are several things that our work is focused on now. Firstly, we launched ‘Windsor Roar’ at the start of the Nations League campaign, working with younger fans to try to develop ideas, bringing them to the Irish FA and then working to put them in place. We’re currently raising funds to help pay for things like displays and flags for the World Cup qualifiers next year. Some of our ideas have been easy to deliver, such as the large ‘waver’ flags at the front of the Kop and getting the lyrics out for a refreshed GAWA Songbook. Other ideas will cost a lot more, and we’re asking people to donate £10 to our efforts, and in return we have one of Daniel Ballard’s shirts up for grabs. The details are on our social media platforms, however be quick as the draw is being made tomorrow. We’ve also continued to follow up on the issues that arose in Bulgaria and the increasing difficulty in having the PSNI invited to assist with operations at away fixtures. I travelled to Berlin last week to meet with Fan Embassy reps from 14 other countries and it was a good opportunity to feed back all these matters. FSE will continue to work for improvements in the UEFA regulations and will also take up the lack of policing invitations with the Council of Europe when they meet again next month. It’s good to be able to use the contacts we have to try to address these things when they arise. however the fantastic performance and result against Bulgaria certainly put a spring in the step! THE IDEAS KEEP COMING… Things just seem to be getting busier and busier for the Amalgamation,

The Amalgamation has also just launched a new club (Spirit of 2016 NISC). We regularly have contact from individuals who aren’t in a supporters’ club, but who would like to become part of the Amalgamation. This may be because there are no clubs where they live, or the local clubs have closed the books for new membership applications. This is something that we’ve been looking to address for some time, and we’ve finally put something in place. Spirit of 2016 will be free to join, and it will operate online, with members receiving updates about the work we do for the benefit of Northern Ireland fans. We hope that it will also increase our reach and help us to engage with younger fans who we know have a lot of respect for the Amalgamation and the work that we do, but who prefer to travel with friends rather than as part of a club. You can email so16nisc@gmail.com if you’d like to join. There is a (very good) podcast of the same name, and although they’re not linked to this Spirit of 2016 initiative they were kind enough to let us use the name. We’re grateful for that and I’d recommend you give them a listen! You can find out more about all these Amalgamation initiatives by following our Facebook page, our X/Twitter account or our WhatsApp channel. We are also distributing thousands of postcards at tonight’s match with these contact details. We’d love you to get involved! GARY McALLISTER AMALGAMATION OF OFFICIAL NORTHERN IRELAND SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS

FOLLOW US AT @WGMac

TheAmalgamation www.aonisc.co.uk

IRISHFA.COM

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