Northern Ireland v USA

SUPPORTING NORTHERN IRELAND ACROSS THE ATLANTIC… One of the great things about supporting Northern Ireland is meeting other fans from throughout the country – and further afield.

A fine piece of kit: a Toronto NISC ja

cket

from the 1980s.

during the successful Billy Bingham era a regular occurrence. Seventy of their number also made the trip south to support the team at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico. The camaraderie forged among our fans at that time saw many of those travelling in the opposite direction from Northern Ireland to Canada welcomed into the homes of their Toronto-based friends as they made their way to Guadalajara. The club has a more modest membership today of around 25, getting together to watch games on television in the Queen Victoria pub, although at least some of them still attend matches whenever possible and the club is always well represented anytime the team play on the other side of the ‘pond’, travelling to the friendly in Panama a couple of years ago and having a great time by all accounts. Look out for their club banner in the North Stand – it’s not too difficult to spot with the Northern Ireland crest and maple leaf resplendent! Wherever you’re based in the world get in touch with us via our social media platforms (Facebook – TheAmalgamation or @AoNISC_Travel on Twitter) and we’ll put you in touch with other fans. Gary McAllister Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs

There are members of the Green and White Army spread across the globe and that’s reflected in the membership of the AONISC, with clubs in the rest of the UK, in continental Europe, Australia and in North America, where we have three affiliated clubs, based in Toronto, Vancouver and the United States. I first met the guys (and girls) from Toronto NISC when Northern Ireland played a couple of games in New Jersey and Chicago back in 2006, during Lawrie Sanchez’s spell as manager. Before the first fixture some of our US-based fans organised a ‘tailgate party’. This is a common event around sporting fixtures Stateside where fans gather in the car park at the stadium and have a barbecue or picnic and a few refreshments before going into the game. For $10 each we were able to enjoy a tasty burger washed down by a couple of beers pumped from a keg which the guys had brought along for us all. Among our number was Stephen Rea, a former travel agent who had sold his business in Belfast to go off travelling himself, before settling in New Orleans. He’d lost his home in ‘Hurricane Katrina’ but thankfully not his cheerful demeanour. Stephen still travels across for matches occasionally, one of his most recent being the Bosnia and Herzegovina Nations League game in Sarajevo. Our United States NISC have around 40 members today and will meet up whenever they can; the last get-together pre-Covid was in Charlotte, North Carolina. Alan Megahey, who runs the group, said that one big positive in recent years has been the increased access to Northern Ireland games via ESPN. The Toronto NISC originally formed in the 1980s. Mainstays of the club included Walter Blair and RJ McLaughlin, with journeys across to Belfast

FOLLOW US AT @WGMac TheAmalgamation www.aonisc.co.uk

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