Anybody else follow small countries?

[argh1]

I'm sure that others follow a minnow of one place or another around the world (well, besides Canada of course)

I as any-one whose viewed this board know I follow Irish, either Republic or Northern.(No, I don't understand Irish politics or the whole Protestant/Catholic thing nor does it have any affect on my life as a Canadian). Mostly because of ancestry (but you may have your own reason for following......I dunno......Malta maybe) but I've never set foot on the Emerald Isle nor do I plan on it. Following Irish club teams in Euro Cups competition is just part of my pastime.

For example:

Bohemians (Republic) beat Gent 1-0 in the first leg of Intertoto qualifing and........Lisburn Distillery (Northern Ireland) play Zalgaris Vilnius to-day away in the same competition.

But if anybody else follows teams from any other minnow around the world, please keep us informed!

[sstackho]

Earlier on in my Canadian soccer supporting days, I used to play the FIFA Ranking Game. Each month, the FIFA world rankings would come out, and Canada would be wedged in between two countries that I knew nothing about. So I'd learn a bit about them - and tend to keep my eye on their world results.

Early on, we were once wedged between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Not exactly small countries geographically - but fairly small on the world stage. So I learned a bit about them, and they became minnow cult favourites for me. I almost had an orgasm when I saw that there was an Azerbaijan/Uzbekistan friendly.

But sadly my geography knowledge has improved (some - I still couldn't get those 80% scores that you people were getting on the Geography Game link that was posted here a while ago) - and countries like Scotland have fallen so far that the game isn't as fun any more.

[PaulV]

I have followed New Zealand in various sports since spending some time travelling around there. Not a minnow in rugby, of course, but very much so in soccer. I usually keep an eye on what they're up to. With the advent of BitTorrent I now have a chance to occasionally see them play. The AllBlacks are on the tube regularly but seeing the All Whites (soccer) is next to unheard of in Canada.

[footballfreak]

This is my first post here after finally getting registration to go through. Been trying for a few years and all it took was a new computer.

Anyways, I try to support one minnow from each confederation to keep in touch with every corner of the football globe.

For now, my asian representatives: the Maldives.

It's almost hard not to root for these guys. Small population (350 000), remote locale, "where the hell is it?", and topography that makes Saskatchewan look like the himalayas (highest point of 2.4 m above sea level). The only thing that made me consider not liking them is the fact they have what we don't; a decent-sized, soccer-specific stadium.

capacity 11 850

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/maldives/male_dhandu.shtml

Doh!

[Guest Jeffery S.]

I look fondly on Andorra for obvious reasons of proximity. Also because occasionally they play their qualifying matches in Barcelona, for weather reasons or if some ass of a team refuses to play up in the mountains (the stadium is quite small).

And am also keen to see the results of their club play, in what is essentially a beer league, like any amateur league sponsored by local business in a town of 50,000. So what a surprise to see FC Rangers drawing former Champion's League team Sturm Graz in their first Intertoto leg, 1-1 with the Austrian's getting their goal mid 2nd half to tie it.

We are talking about a team that is likely to be below an average CPSL or PCSL team. So great show.