Albanian team on bonus of €100,000 to beat Ireland

ALBANIA are expecting the sudden football euphoria sweeping the country to overwhelm Ireland in the European Championship qualifying tie at the Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana this evening.

The Prime Minister Fatos Nano yesterday offered the players a bonus fund of €100,000 to beat the visitors. In a county which is generally regarded as the poorest in Europe, where the average monthly wage is 50, that represents a substantial gesture which fits perfectly with the rising tide of football ambition.

Albania's historic 3-1 win over Russia on Saturday has fired hopes of a first major championship qualification in the former Soviet nation. It would be easy for Ireland to dismiss such lofty hopes as fantasy but to do so would be to ignore a number of significant facts.