55 football nations in one season!

[55footballnations]

Hi there,

I have the slightly crazy aim to experience top division league football in 55 UEFA nations over the 2017/18 season. My adventure starts in Georgia in June 2017!

Do forum contributors have any off beat football tips from their European travels? An interesting museum, a crazy statue, an amazing football-themed bar or restaurant? I'm visiting all 55 UEFA members so any European tips gratefully received. I already have an itinerary in place for the 12 summer leagues, but useful advice will help shape my route through the 42 autumn-spring leagues.

Experiencing Europe's 55 football nations in one season. Follow the adventure!

http://www.55footballnations.com
http://www.instagram.com/55FootballNations
http://www.twitter.com/55FtballNations

[AlanK]

Hi there,

I have the slightly crazy aim to experience top division league football in 55 UEFA nations over the 2017/18 season. My adventure starts in Georgia in June 2017!

Do forum contributors have any off beat football tips from their European travels? An interesting museum, a crazy statue, an amazing football-themed bar or restaurant? I'm visiting all 55 UEFA members so any European tips gratefully received. I already have an itinerary in place for the 12 summer leagues, but useful advice will help shape my route through the 42 autumn-spring leagues.

Experiencing Europe's 55 football nations in one season. Follow the adventure!

http://www.55footballnations.com
http://www.instagram.com/55FootballNations
http://www.twitter.com/55FtballNations

Well, goodness Way, way I might be some help inre Spain or Portugal if you give me an idea where you might go there--my most recent direct experiences are with Barcelona, Oviedo, and Gijón in Spain; Lisboa, Porto, the Algarve in Portugal.

[Lorric]

I think Manchester City have the cheapest or one of the cheapest ticket prices in the Premier League, and struggle to fill the stadium at times, so that might be a good pick for your English game.

Then again, maybe you are wealthy in order to do this, so maybe the cash doesn't matter? Though I could see perhaps if the route was well planned to get in the most games possible in the shortest travel distance the costs wouldn't be too outrageous. I'd love to see you tell your story in detail here.

[AnelZ]

I'm quite sure that you will watch the game played either in Bijeljina or Banja Luka when it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina as that will be the closest to the border and somewhat on the route between Belgrade and Zagreb but then again you also have to go to Montenegro so things could be differet.

[55footballnations]

Thanks for the early feedback football fans!

I'm aiming on writing a book based on my football travel experiences so, where possible, I'm looking for top division clubs with an interesting narrative. And not necessarily the really big clubs from the major European leagues where stories have been told many times before. I'll post updates on http://www.55footballnations.com and there should also be plenty of photos - I'm a part time photographer - at http://www.instagram.com/55footballnations

Part of the challenge is logistical so cheaper tickets and games near borders could be useful. I plan to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina in April 2018!

[spoonman]

There's a big DFB football museum in Dortmund that opened in 2015 (I haven't been there yet).
https://www.fussballmuseum.de/en/visit/address.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Football_Museum

In the Rhine-Ruhr area, you could watch up to 5 professional games on one weekend, from Friday to Monday:
Dortmund
Schalke
Bochum
Duisburg
Mönchengladbach
Düsseldorf
Leverkusen
Köln

Tickets are rather cheap but 1st level stadiums are usually sold out. Leverkusen have one of the smaller Bundesliga stadiums but they struggle to fill it against lesser opponents. If you travel by train: Stations in Dortmund and Köln are hubs for international connections. Mönchengladbach is next to the Dutch border, so it would be a good choice if you go by car. Düsseldorf and Köln/Bonn would be your international airports.

German kick-off times in 2017-18:
Fri 18:30 2.Bundesliga (2 games)
Fri 19:00 3.Liga (usually 1 or 2 games)
Fri 20:30 Bundesliga (1 game)

Sat 13:00 2.Bundesliga (3 games)
Sat 14:00 3.Liga (most games)
Sat 15:30 Bundesliga (5 games)
Sat 18:30 Bundesliga (1 game)

Sun 13:30 2.Bundesliga (3 games) / Bundesliga (1 game, only 5 per season)
Sun 14:00 3.Liga (usually 1 or 2 games)
Sun 15:30 Bundesliga (1 game)
Sun 18:00 Bundesliga (1 game)

Mon 20:30 2.Bundesliga (1 game) / Bundesliga (1 game, only 5 per season)

[Thunder_PT]

Wow, good luck man!

Portugal shouldn't be a problem money-wise. I'll be able to give you better advice once the fixtures come out and you know when you'll be passing by. For now:

Museums:
FC Porto's museum is phenomenal and I heard Benfica's is great too. They both opened quite recently.

Statues:
The Eusébio's one outside the Luz stadium is the only I can think of.

Stadiums:
If you're looking for something different, I'd definitely recommend Braga's stadium.

Fans:
Vitória de Guimarães have some of the best fans in the country and they're on the brink of their best season ever. If this isn't another one-season wonder and they continue the rise next season, they could be a good choice for a good story.

Main rivalries:
FC Porto - Benfica
Sporting - Benfica
FC Porto - Sporting (not as big as the previous 2)
Braga - Vit. Guimarães

Out of the way:
Chaves and Tondela (if they don't get relegated) are both further inland than most clubs (and population) and, of course, there's Marítimo in Madeira.

Historic teams down on their luck:
When you mentioned good narrative I immediately thought it'd be cool to visit teams with lots of history in the top flight but that are now in the 3rd tier or lower, possibly with exciting fans trying to help the team up to their former glory. These include U. Leiria, Beira-Mar, Salgueiros, Espinho and others.

[Duketown]

Nice!
For the Netherlands I would suggest attending Feyenoord in de Kuip. This 1937 stadium is legend and Feyenoord might leave in a few years.

[Todor]

You can do Bulgaria and Romania in the same day if you visit Ruse in Bulgaria to watch Dunav and Giurgiu in Romania to watch Astra, as they are on both sides of the Danube and are connected by a bridge, but then there is no other country close to these two towns.

[Oldelpaso]

I think Manchester City have the cheapest or one of the cheapest ticket prices in the Premier League, and struggle to fill the stadium at times, so that might be a good pick for your English game.

Then again, maybe you are wealthy in order to do this, so maybe the cash doesn't matter? Though I could see perhaps if the route was well planned to get in the most games possible in the shortest travel distance the costs wouldn't be too outrageous. I'd love to see you tell your story in detail here.

Oh how I wish our prices were cheap. My season ticket renewal price works out at over £43 a game, in an average priced area of the stadium. There are a few headline-grabbing cheap ones at the very back of the South Stand, but there's only a few hundred and they're largely a publicity stunt. Tickets in seats where the view of the match doesn't resemble Subbuteo cost significantly more. More widely, most English clubs operate a tiered pricing structure where games against the top teams will cost more than against teams like Swansea or Bournemouth. As Lorric says, more detail on requirements would be useful. The advice I'd give would vary depending on things like if the objective is to do it as quickly as possible, or as cheaply as possible, or if sightseeing is of interest.

It might be possible to do England and Wales in a day - Connah's Quay and Broughton are both under an hour's drive from Liverpool, so could be done in conjunction with an early or late kick off at Liverpool or Everton. Newcastle is an hour and a half by train from Edinburgh, and St James' Park is in the city centre, so some luck with fixtures might make England and Scotland possible in a day. Spurs might be an interesting possibility for some sightseeing. They're playing at Wembley next season, so at 90,000 capacity tickets shouldn't be a problem, and it'd be a chance to see the national stadium too. There will be more Friday Premier League fixtures next season, so England, Scotland and Wales in a weekend will be easier than before.

If the OP needs any specific advice about England I can probably help.

Edit - just spotted the Location: London in the OP's profile, so the UK ones probably aren't an issue

[Maribor]

In slovenia you'll have two major choices to either visit Ljbuljana or to visit Maribor both which can be access via the countries two largest airports.

Maribor has okay connections via public transport to Zagreb in Croatia and Graz in Austria. if you want to try and mark two countries off in the same weekend.

Ljubljana if your going somewhere else in the same weekend then their won't be much choice but to get a aeroplane as their is no real connections within a couple of hours to another top level club via road transport (maybe 3 hours to next stop).

If you choose to visit Maribor I'll be more than happy to give you details on where to stay etc.

[SteffenM]

I can help in Denmark if it is needed.
Prizes are about £10 at the most stadiums.

_____

There is the 'new firm'
Copenhagen - Brøndby with a lot of media coverage.
If you would like to see and cover a derby with less covered by maybe with even more hate.
Midtjylland - Viborg could be something to go with.

Also a potentiel good story.
The new industry city, with a entrepreneur spirit, big exhibitions, concerts and great sports performances against (Herning and Ikast where Midtjylland are placed)
the old capital, with the cathedral, a lot of story and so on, but are not that dominant as they use to, and have a hard time accepting that. (Viborg)

I hope you can't here where I am from (Herning),
however I think there is a great story about the new vs. the old and it is also shown on the stances.

_____

Another take could be FC Midtjylland only are from 1999. Now with a champions ship and won against ManU in a single match,
just after being bought by Benham (also the owner of Brentford in UK) - Money football approach, putting in a lot of ressources in youth academy and an academy win in Mexico (Copa Chivas) and good performances in Youth League two years in a row.

[popularside]

Ballinamallard in Northern Ireland and Sligo Rovers in the Republic can be done on the same day but both are rather awkward to reach.

Otherwise the top tier teams in the Dublin area all play Friday night and you will have 3pm Saturday kickoffs north of the border.

We have different seasons but will overlap in September and October. We also play on International weekends.

[Lorric]

I think Manchester City have the cheapest or one of the cheapest ticket prices in the Premier League, and struggle to fill the stadium at times, so that might be a good pick for your English game.

Then again, maybe you are wealthy in order to do this, so maybe the cash doesn't matter? Though I could see perhaps if the route was well planned to get in the most games possible in the shortest travel distance the costs wouldn't be too outrageous. I'd love to see you tell your story in detail here.

Oh how I wish our prices were cheap. My season ticket renewal price works out at over £43 a game, in an average priced area of the stadium. There are a few headline-grabbing cheap ones at the very back of the South Stand, but there's only a few hundred and they're largely a publicity stunt. Tickets in seats where the view of the match doesn't resemble Subbuteo cost significantly more. More widely, most English clubs operate a tiered pricing structure where games against the top teams will cost more than against teams like Swansea or Bournemouth. As Lorric says, more detail on requirements would be useful. The advice I'd give would vary depending on things like if the objective is to do it as quickly as possible, or as cheaply as possible, or if sightseeing is of interest.

It might be possible to do England and Wales in a day - Connah's Quay and Broughton are both under an hour's drive from Liverpool, so could be done in conjunction with an early or late kick off at Liverpool or Everton. Newcastle is an hour and a half by train from Edinburgh, and St James' Park is in the city centre, so some luck with fixtures might make England and Scotland possible in a day. Spurs might be an interesting possibility for some sightseeing. They're playing at Wembley next season, so at 90,000 capacity tickets shouldn't be a problem, and it'd be a chance to see the national stadium too. There will be more Friday Premier League fixtures next season, so England, Scotland and Wales in a weekend will be easier than before.

If the OP needs any specific advice about England I can probably help.

Edit - just spotted the Location: London in the OP's profile, so the UK ones probably aren't an issue

I guess the publicity stunt worked on me then.

I'm guessing he wouldn't want to "cheat" in such a way, but Swansea's survival presents a possibility of an easy "England" / Wales double. Or the other option is to go up North instead and visit say Newcastle then the Scottish club.

But yes, I too learned he is English after my original post by clicking his links. Wembley is a tempting one, and would look good in the gallery and for the unusual story. There is of course Leicester for story but perhaps that is too obvious. Huddersfield would be a good one I think if they manage to come up, a club with history of winning the league returning to the top tier after so long and when they weren't supposed to get anywhere near doing so.

For Wales and Scotland though, if it was me it would have to be Celtic and New Saints, they are just so far above everyone else, got to both be in the top 5 for having a gap over the rest of the teams in their league easily, maybe even both top 3. Doesn't have to be in their stadium, could be in their opponent's.

[Thunder_PT]

If the idea is quickness, Portugal, Spain and even Andorra are doable in a weekend. Portugal have games from Friday to Monday, so either starting or ending there can allow for 3 games in one weekend. Actually, France also have a game on Friday, so all 4 in 4 days Friday to Monday is possible.

I'd recommend against it, though, if budget isn't a problem. Rushing it would ruin the experience.