IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME, and reasons to be afraid may be bountiful, but if you’re worried by the prospect of having to buy a present for the football obsessive in your life, worry no more.
Nah, continue to worry, but allow us to provide at least a modicum of relief with a few gift ideas which cover most bases where football fandom is concerned.
League of Ireland merchandise
With the 2018 League of Ireland season already less than two months away, new kits, memorabilia and merchandise are all the rage.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, or if Santa’s come unstuck, season tickets are available from each club. Prices for adults range from €225 to €140, with numerous clubs also offering discounted family packages. There’s also great value to be found for children (U12s at Galway United can access every home game for as little as €25 next year, as can U13s at Bohs) and senior citizens (€70 with champions Cork City), while a majority of clubs are also offering discounted family packages.
If you’re after something a little less pricey, here’s a list of where you’ll find your local League of Ireland club store, inside which you’ll find a plethora of club kits, garments and accessories. You can also click on the club name below to be redirected to the official club store where applicable.
Cork City: Douglas Village Shopping Centre Dundalk: Unit 25 (middle entrance), Marshes Shopping Centre Shamrock Rovers: Whitestown Way, within Tallaght Stadium complex Derry City: Unit 4, Rathmore Business Park Bohemians: Dalymount Park, Phibsborough Bray Wanderers: Carlisle Grounds, Quinsborough Rd, Ravenswell, Bray Limerick: Arthurs Quay Shopping Centre, Patrick Street St Patrick’s Athletic: (online store currently inactive) Richmond Park, 125 Emmet Road, Inchicore Sligo Rovers: Market Street, Sligo town Galway United: Eye Square Shopping Centre Finn Harps: (online store currently inactive; email web@finnharps.com for product queries) Finn Park, Ballybofey; enter at the Chestnut Road/Aldi gate Drogheda United: product collection available at Scotch Hall Shopping Centre, Marsh Rd, Lagavooren Waterford FC: Regional Sports Centre, Cork Road Shelbourne: Tolka Park, Drumcondra (open only on Tuesday 19 December from 5pm to 7:30pm and Saturday, 23 December from 1:30pm to 4pm) Longford Town: Beside Joe Durkin’s, Ballymahon St Wexford FC: Ferrycarrig Park – open over the Christmas period (email info@wexfordfc.ie for product queries)
Alternative League of Ireland option:Just Follow the Floodlights!: The Complete Guide to League of Ireland Football, by Brian Kennedy.
Originally published in 2012, Kennedy’s journey through the storied history of Irish domestic football remains a standout account of the League of Ireland.
The Waterford-based Munster Express journalist visited all 47 clubs to have graced the league (to 2012), and regales readers with larger-than-life tales from each in a beautifully-illustrated journey through 90 years’ worth of highs and lows for the game in this country.
Price:€17 Available:Books.ie, some book stores (it’s worth phoning ahead).
Spurs ‘The Lane’ silk tie
Casting our eyes across the Irish Sea, all 20 Premier League clubs possess highly proficient stores with an embarrassment of potential gift options: some more embarrassing than others.
To save (most of) you the hassle, we’ve selected the finest, reasonably-priced item from the stores of each of the five most supported Premier League teams in Ireland.
We begin with Spurs, and what is essentially a tie.
Should you find yourself having to explain your choice further on Christmas morning – and it’s frankly unlikely, because it’s a nice tie – you can point out that it’s part of the club’s ‘The Lane’ range, which commemorates the now-demolished White Hart Lane – Spurs’ home for over 100 years.
It’s 100% pure cotton and only costs 34 bob, and it doesn’t look too bad by anybody’s standard – except, perhaps, a Spurs fan.
The old-school crest is bearable even for the neutral, and will likely be enjoyed greatly by your resident Gooner, who will associate it with the altogether more enjoyable days of yore.
It’s also available in other colours, and is currently part of a ‘two for £50 (€56) on Arsenal’s website.
A Christmas gift valid only for the day that’s in it, perhaps, but one which will doubtless be clawed from the dusty enclaves of the wardrobe every year henceforth.
Chelsea’s online store also has – by a distance – the finest selection of hoodies in the Premier League, but you’ll be paying upwards of €45 for most.
Carefully threaded, perhaps you too should thread carefully, for this offering will add pubs to the standard 12 its wearer will most certainly feel compelled to afflict in December 2019.
It’s remarkably difficult to describe a dressing gown in any great detail, so I’ll defer to personal experience on the matter: I’ve twice received dressing gowns as Christmas presents, and I was disappointed on neither occasion.
Again, they hardly lend themselves to a Patrick Rothfuss-like dissection, but these are lined with fleece, and so surely won’t go unused beneath the dove-grey winter sky, each hue darker and richer than before, as flowers sleep and the trees show their lofty arms once more.
Written by one of the UK’s most established sports journalists and based on hundreds of hours of interviews, No Hunger in Paradise is this writer’s pick for best football book of the year.
It makes for an ideal gift in that it’s not centered around any particular club or figure, and so if you find yourself asking, ‘why have The42 not included Sheffield Wednesday pyjamas in this ramshackle list’, Calvin’s compelling exploration of the sport itself should have you covered.
The author visits everything from gangs in the council estates of Brixton which have bred international footballers, to 200 million-pound training complexes in Manchester which conversely breed only jealousy and entitlement; he follows the tales of the most promising young players up and down England, shedding light on the pitfalls and pressures which confront children who – by their own choice or otherwise – are attempting to make it big in the beautiful game; he interviews parents, coaches, agents, managers and players and discovers a system which is rife with corruption and abuse; he finds some of the youngsters who have fallen through the cracks of this system, as well as those who fall foul of football’s culture of entitlement and the distraction of money.
Happy Christmas!
There are some heart-warming success stories in there, too, so fear not: you won’t be consigning your loved one to bed for half of January.
Price: €13 Available to buy:Amazon, and most book stores.
Part of the Copa Mundial family part-worshipped by most hardcore football heads, the Gloro 17.2 also pays homage to the coveted adidas Predator Mania of the early 2000s by way of its tongue – a long sought-after addition to the typically tongueless modern adidas offering.
The Copa Gloro 17.2 is available exclusively to the 53 Life Style Sports stores nationwide and will retail at a fairly appealing €110 (appealing compared to most new boots of its ilk).
A quintessential boot-lover’s football boot, it’s one for the ‘big present’, perhaps, but has gone down extremely well with athletes -both male and female – since its recent release.
Price: €110 Available: Life Style Sports
Football Manager 2018
Want to literally never see your football-loving son or daughter again? Boy, do we have the gift idea for you.
Price: ~€55 Available: All game stores
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
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11 Christmas gift ideas for the football fan in your life
IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME, and reasons to be afraid may be bountiful, but if you’re worried by the prospect of having to buy a present for the football obsessive in your life, worry no more.
Nah, continue to worry, but allow us to provide at least a modicum of relief with a few gift ideas which cover most bases where football fandom is concerned.
League of Ireland merchandise
With the 2018 League of Ireland season already less than two months away, new kits, memorabilia and merchandise are all the rage.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, or if Santa’s come unstuck, season tickets are available from each club. Prices for adults range from €225 to €140, with numerous clubs also offering discounted family packages. There’s also great value to be found for children (U12s at Galway United can access every home game for as little as €25 next year, as can U13s at Bohs) and senior citizens (€70 with champions Cork City), while a majority of clubs are also offering discounted family packages.
If you’re after something a little less pricey, here’s a list of where you’ll find your local League of Ireland club store, inside which you’ll find a plethora of club kits, garments and accessories. You can also click on the club name below to be redirected to the official club store where applicable.
Cork City: Douglas Village Shopping Centre
Dundalk: Unit 25 (middle entrance), Marshes Shopping Centre
Shamrock Rovers: Whitestown Way, within Tallaght Stadium complex
Derry City: Unit 4, Rathmore Business Park
Bohemians: Dalymount Park, Phibsborough
Bray Wanderers: Carlisle Grounds, Quinsborough Rd, Ravenswell, Bray
Limerick: Arthurs Quay Shopping Centre, Patrick Street
St Patrick’s Athletic: (online store currently inactive) Richmond Park, 125 Emmet Road, Inchicore
Sligo Rovers: Market Street, Sligo town
Galway United: Eye Square Shopping Centre
Finn Harps: (online store currently inactive; email web@finnharps.com for product queries) Finn Park, Ballybofey; enter at the Chestnut Road/Aldi gate
Drogheda United: product collection available at Scotch Hall Shopping Centre, Marsh Rd, Lagavooren
Waterford FC: Regional Sports Centre, Cork Road
Shelbourne: Tolka Park, Drumcondra (open only on Tuesday 19 December from 5pm to 7:30pm and Saturday, 23 December from 1:30pm to 4pm)
Longford Town: Beside Joe Durkin’s, Ballymahon St
Wexford FC: Ferrycarrig Park – open over the Christmas period (email info@wexfordfc.ie for product queries)
Alternative League of Ireland option: Just Follow the Floodlights!: The Complete Guide to League of Ireland Football, by Brian Kennedy.
Originally published in 2012, Kennedy’s journey through the storied history of Irish domestic football remains a standout account of the League of Ireland.
The Waterford-based Munster Express journalist visited all 47 clubs to have graced the league (to 2012), and regales readers with larger-than-life tales from each in a beautifully-illustrated journey through 90 years’ worth of highs and lows for the game in this country.
Price:€17
Available: Books.ie, some book stores (it’s worth phoning ahead).
Spurs ‘The Lane’ silk tie
Casting our eyes across the Irish Sea, all 20 Premier League clubs possess highly proficient stores with an embarrassment of potential gift options: some more embarrassing than others.
To save (most of) you the hassle, we’ve selected the finest, reasonably-priced item from the stores of each of the five most supported Premier League teams in Ireland.
We begin with Spurs, and what is essentially a tie.
Should you find yourself having to explain your choice further on Christmas morning – and it’s frankly unlikely, because it’s a nice tie – you can point out that it’s part of the club’s ‘The Lane’ range, which commemorates the now-demolished White Hart Lane – Spurs’ home for over 100 years.
Available: here
Price: €40
Arsenal red crew neck cotton jumper
It’s 100% pure cotton and only costs 34 bob, and it doesn’t look too bad by anybody’s standard – except, perhaps, a Spurs fan.
The old-school crest is bearable even for the neutral, and will likely be enjoyed greatly by your resident Gooner, who will associate it with the altogether more enjoyable days of yore.
It’s also available in other colours, and is currently part of a ‘two for £50 (€56) on Arsenal’s website.
Price: €34
Available: Here
Chelsea snowflake Christmas jumper
A Christmas gift valid only for the day that’s in it, perhaps, but one which will doubtless be clawed from the dusty enclaves of the wardrobe every year henceforth.
Chelsea’s online store also has – by a distance – the finest selection of hoodies in the Premier League, but you’ll be paying upwards of €45 for most.
Carefully threaded, perhaps you too should thread carefully, for this offering will add pubs to the standard 12 its wearer will most certainly feel compelled to afflict in December 2019.
Price: €35
Available: Here
Liverpool mens grey classic dressing gown
It’s remarkably difficult to describe a dressing gown in any great detail, so I’ll defer to personal experience on the matter: I’ve twice received dressing gowns as Christmas presents, and I was disappointed on neither occasion.
Price: €34
Available: Here
Manchester United moccasin slippers
Ah, slippers. Brilliant.
Again, they hardly lend themselves to a Patrick Rothfuss-like dissection, but these are lined with fleece, and so surely won’t go unused beneath the dove-grey winter sky, each hue darker and richer than before, as flowers sleep and the trees show their lofty arms once more.
Price: €32
Available: Here
No Hunger in Paradise, by Michael Calvin
Written by one of the UK’s most established sports journalists and based on hundreds of hours of interviews, No Hunger in Paradise is this writer’s pick for best football book of the year.
It makes for an ideal gift in that it’s not centered around any particular club or figure, and so if you find yourself asking, ‘why have The42 not included Sheffield Wednesday pyjamas in this ramshackle list’, Calvin’s compelling exploration of the sport itself should have you covered.
The author visits everything from gangs in the council estates of Brixton which have bred international footballers, to 200 million-pound training complexes in Manchester which conversely breed only jealousy and entitlement; he follows the tales of the most promising young players up and down England, shedding light on the pitfalls and pressures which confront children who – by their own choice or otherwise – are attempting to make it big in the beautiful game; he interviews parents, coaches, agents, managers and players and discovers a system which is rife with corruption and abuse; he finds some of the youngsters who have fallen through the cracks of this system, as well as those who fall foul of football’s culture of entitlement and the distraction of money.
Happy Christmas!
There are some heart-warming success stories in there, too, so fear not: you won’t be consigning your loved one to bed for half of January.
Price: €13
Available to buy: Amazon, and most book stores.
adidas Copa Gloro 17.2
Part of the Copa Mundial family part-worshipped by most hardcore football heads, the Gloro 17.2 also pays homage to the coveted adidas Predator Mania of the early 2000s by way of its tongue – a long sought-after addition to the typically tongueless modern adidas offering.
The Copa Gloro 17.2 is available exclusively to the 53 Life Style Sports stores nationwide and will retail at a fairly appealing €110 (appealing compared to most new boots of its ilk).
A quintessential boot-lover’s football boot, it’s one for the ‘big present’, perhaps, but has gone down extremely well with athletes -both male and female – since its recent release.
Price: €110
Available: Life Style Sports
Football Manager 2018
Want to literally never see your football-loving son or daughter again? Boy, do we have the gift idea for you.
Price: ~€55
Available: All game stores
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
Derry City snap up Northern Ireland U21 international winger
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