Green and wear it for big matches, fans told

SOCCER fans have been urged to green and wear it for Ireland’s upcoming internationals as part of a game plan to inject new colour and life into the stands on big match days.

Some 40,000 green cards will be on the seats in Lansdowne for the European Championship qualifiers against Albania on Saturday and Georgia next Wednesday and fans are to hold them up in jigsaw fashion so the team can’t tell pitch from public when they emerge from the tunnel.

The FAI is giving out 22 giant tricolours to drape around the venue and will also fly the monster 60 feet high, 100 feet long version presented to the Irish squad by the city of Izumo in Japan, the team’s training base during the World Cup.

Bodhrans, bugles and other noise-generators will be welcome following consultations with gardai and safety officers, and every fan is being urged to dress top to toe in green and bring the longest, loudest supporters scarf they can find.

A musical act will perform before the match to warm up the crowd and at half-time.

The plan to green it up at Lansdowne was announced by new FAI chief executive Fran Rooney who said he wanted to raise big match atmosphere to fever pitch.

Mr Rooney also wants to set up a fans forum to gather and implement home-grown suggestions.

He even wants to do a Louis Walsh and form a fans’ band to keep the supporters on a high note.

Not that he would suggest the fans have failed in their task to date but: “Some of the days at Lansdowne Road when the team are under pressure, the fans tend to react to how the team is playing and they go quiet because they start to get worried when it’s the opposite that’s needed.”

The plan was put together with the help of the 22 Eircom League supporters groups who have long complained that nobody from FAI headquarters listens to them but have now been brought on side as official flag-bearers, consultants and holders of an extra 1,500 specially allocated Lansdowne tickets.

Mr. Rooney pledged to continue working on long-running ticket allocation problems but admitted he was limited in what he could do. “Obviously we need a new stadium,” he said.

A 40,000 piece jigsaw of Bertie could be next on the cards.