Name of the game
THERE are over 100 football clubs spread across Europe with only one name – and some are quite amusing to say the least. Of course there are hundreds who have more than one name, some of which contain 20 or more letters.
This is my selection of the more unusual short-named clubs:
Van (Armenia), Noah (Armenia), Ried (Austria), Gent (Belgium), Flora (Estonia), Aris (Greece), Paks (Hungary), Riga (Latvia), Sheriff (Moldova), Balti (Moldova), Zeta (Montenegro), Odd (Norway), Ufa (Russia), Bravo (Slovenia) and Sion (Switzerland).
Following up, here are a handful of clubs with 20 or more letters in their name:
Merit Alsancak Yesilova (Cyprus), Inverness Caledonian Thistle (Scotland) and four in England, Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, AFC (Association Football Club) Bournemouth and AFC Wimbledon.
And for the record, these are some of the unusuallynamed clubs playing in Gibraltar’s top league: Bruno’s Magpies, College 1975, Europa FC, Europa Point, Lincoln Red
Imps, Lions Gibraltar, Lynx, Manchester 62 and St Joseph’s. And what about these from the Channel Island of Guernsey – Northerners, St Martin’s, Sylvans, Vale Recreation and Manzur. And these six play in nearby Jersey – Rozel Rovers, St Brelade, St Clement, St Ouen, St Pauls and St Peter.
And I can’t end without including the club with the longest name in the entire footballing world: Clwb Pêl Droed Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch FC, commonly referred to nowadays by a shortened version as CPD Llanfairpwll FC. It plays in the fifth level of the North Wales Coast West Football League.