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Republic of Ireland blind team return from World Championships ranked seventh in the world 

Republic of Ireland Football team return from the IBSA World Futsal Championships in Buenos Aires ranked seventh in the world and sixth in Europe. Placed in a tough group along with favourites Argentina, England and Spain, they always knew it was going to be an uphill task to qualify for the semi-finals. Their worst fears were realised when they were soundly beaten by a much improved England team by eight goals to two, with both Irish goals coming from Niall Durham. Robert Moore’s squad were out played in the first half but rallied well hitting the post seven times but luck was not on the Irish side and too many mistakes cost them the game.

Ireland’s next opponent, the surprise packet of the tournament and host, Argentina, was never going to be an easy game. Despite a very spirited display by Ireland, Argentina came out on top by seven goals to four with goals from Ciaran O’Brien (2), John Gaughan and Paddy Coates.

Ireland had something to prove in their final group match against Spain – ranked number two in Europe – and they produced a marvellous performance to upset the odds by winning 3-2 in a match they dominated for long stretches. Ireland’s goals were scored by Niall Durham and Shane Campbell.

A play off for the fifth and sixth spot saw Russia defeating the Irish side 7-4 with goals from Paddy Coates, John Gaughan, Ciaran O'Brien and Warren McDonald. Ireland’s IBSA World Championship came to an end on Saturday when they took on Italy in a sixth and seventh place play off. Ireland ended their campaign on a high winning 4-1 with Paddy Coates (2), Ciaran O’Brien and Gerard Prendergast scoring the Irish goals.

FC St. Pauli is a GERMAN SPORTS CLUB based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football department is part of a larger club that also has Rugby, American football, baseball, bowling, chess, cycling, handball, skittles, softball and table tennis teams. While the footballers have enjoyed only modest success on the field, the club is widely recognized for its unique culture and has a large popular following as one of the country's "Kult" clubs. St. Pauli has secured promotion to the  Bundesliga 2 for the 2007/08 Season, and will play at the same level in 2008/09. It was in the mid-80's that St. Pauli's transition from a traditional club into a "Kult" club began. The club was also able to turn the location of its ground in the dock area part of town to its advantage. An alternative fan scene emerged built around left-leaning politics and the "event" and party atmosphere of the club's matches.

Supporters adopted the skull and crossbones as their own unofficial emblem. Importantly, St. Pauli became the first team in Germany to officially ban rightwing, nationalist activities and displays in its stadium in an era when fascist inspired football hooliganism threatened the game across Europe. In 1981, the team was averaging crowds of only 1,600 spectators: by the late 90's they were frequently selling out their entire 20,000 capacity venue. FC St. Pauli enjoy certain fame for the left leaning character of its supporters: most of the team's fans regard themselves as anti-racist, anti-fascist and anti-sexist, and this has on occasion brought them into conflict with neo-Nazis and hooligans at away games. The organization has taken up an outspoken stance against racism, fascism, sexism. 
The club prides itself on having have the largest number of female fans in all of German football. In 2002, advertisements for the men's magazine Maxim were removed from the team's stadium in response to fan protests over the sexist depictions of women in the ads.
St. Pauli is also a worldwide symbol for punk and related subcultures.[1] The unofficial Totenkopf logo and the team's brown and white football jerseys have often been worn by international artists such as Asian Dub Foundation. St. Pauli are also known for their close links with many other foreign clubs and enjoy a particularly close friendship with Celtic with St. Pauli fans attending Celtic games on the continent when Celtic play UEFA competitions. St Pauli flags and scarves are frequently seen on display at Celtic Park and every year Celtic supporters arrive in Hamburg for the annual St Pauli - Celtic Festival.

In Israel, St. Pauli is identified with Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C., a first division team that also see itself as anti-racist and anti-Fascist. In the Tel Aviv derby that has take place at February 17, 2008, Hapoel Tel-Aviv fans waved a large St. Pauli flag in the stadium. St. Pauli opens its home matches with AC/DC's Hells' Bells, and after every home goal Song 2 by Blur is played, turning the stadium into a giant mosh pit.

With the red, white and green tricolour of the Iranian flag draped around her shoulders, Niloofar Ardalan appeared to be in her element as she cheered on the national football team as it battled to reach next year's World Cup. As the daughter of a former international goalkeeper, football is in her blood. She is widely lauded as the best female player in Iran, and once scored 23 goals in an international Islamic women's indoor five-a-side tournament.

But despite her achievements, last Friday's tie between Iran and North Korea was the first men's match Ms Ardalan, 20, had been allowed to attend.
Along with around 20 other young women, Ms Ardalan - an ardent Chelsea fan - was breaching a deeply entrenched taboo of Islamic Iran that bars females from spectating at male sporting events.

"I think the atmosphere is very good," said Ms Ardalan, as Iran laboured to a 1-0 victory. "Women should be allowed to be present at matches to calm down the atmosphere. If the men saw that their sisters were sitting nearby they would behave better and not shout and curse."
Women's attendance at football matches has emerged as an issue in this month's presidential election. The frontrunner, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pillar of the political establishment now trying to reinvent himself as the young people's champion, has said he favours lifting the ban on women.

Ms Ardalan, a physical education student, said Mr Rafsanjani's pledge could be a vote winner. "Many young women in Iran are in love with football but they are frustrated that they cannot come to watch."
Ms Ardalan and a group of fellow players from Iran's women's indoor league had been allowed to attend the match at Tehran's Azadi stadium after petitioning the Iranian Football Federation. A small group of women attended Iran's match, but fierce lobbying led to a larger number being permitted this time.
The only women in an otherwise all-male crowd, their presence was noticeably incongruous. Clad in black Islamic head covering and long coats, they were wedged between two groups of Koreans in a seating arrangement apparently calculated to limit their contact with Iranian male fans. Their attendance prompted a heavy presence of security officers, used to enforcing the all-male rule without challenge.
"This is just the beginning of our people having a new culture and getting used to women coming into stadiums," said Elaheh Moladoast, 27, a referee in the women's league. "We are defending our rights as women to come and watch rather than sitting at home and watching on television. There should be no limitations."
Before kick-off, the giant scoreboard displayed images of Khomeini exhorting members of Iran's revolutionary guards. In contrast to the raucous pre-match entertainments western fans are accustomed to, five men in unison treated the crowd to tavashih - a recitation in Arabic of verses from the Qur'an.

Khomeini is widely believed to have been a football fan and reportedly overruled hardline clerics who wanted the sport banned as un-Islamic. His son Ahmad played in a team in the holy city of Qom.
But his strong views on rigid segregation of the sexes led to the ban on women attending matches and to rules restricting women's football to an indoor activity. Campaigners are now challenging that rule by seeking permission for a women's 11-a-side outdoor league.
They are basing their hopes on the willingness of the authorities to bend the rules to accommodate Iran's football obsession. That flexibility was demonstrated in 1998, when a leading player, Mehdi Mahdavikia was exempted from the military draft as a reward for scoring the winning goal in a World Cup match against the US.
Outside Azadi stadium, Farham Ghods, 24, summed up the sport's importance to the millions of young Iranians being courted by the country's presidential candidates. "For the young people, qualifying for the World Cup was far more important than the presidential election," he said. "Young people cannot reach their goals through politics, but the World Cup gave us some excitement. Football is a means of escape."

Patrick O’Connell was born in Dublin, Ireland, March 1887 and died in January 1959 in England, he was an Irish footballer and manager. Also known as Paddy O’Connell or Patricio O’Connell. During the early 1900s he had a distinguished career as a strong and talented defender, playing for various clubs in Ireland, England & Scotland. He captained Ireland and was a member of the team that won the 1914 British Home Championship. His success with Ireland saw him join Manchester United where he again became captain. After retiring as a player he moved to Spain where he managed Racing de Santander, Real Betis, FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC. In 1935 he led Real Betis to their one and only La Liga title and during the Spanish Civil War he took FC Barcelona on tour to Mexico and the U.S. Despite these successes, he died destitute in London in 1959, aged 72. 

Early career

O’Connell played as junior with Dublin team Stranville Rovers before joining Belfast Celtic. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in 1908 and Hull City in 1912. He spent one season, 1914/15, at Manchester United, making 34 league appearances and scoring twice. O’Connell then signed for Leyton Orient in April 1915 but the First World War interrupted his career. During the war he played as a guest player for both Rochdale A.F.C. and Chesterfield F.C.. O’Connell spent the 1919-20 season at Dumbarton F.C. before joining Ashington A.F.C. in 1920. The 1921/22 saw him appointed player-coach at Ashington.

International career

Between 1912 and 1914 O’Connell played 5 times for Ireland and, along with Louis Bookman, Val Harris, Billy Gillespie and Bill Lacey, he was a member of the Irish team that won the 1914 British Home Championship. After beating Wales 2-1 away, Ireland then beat England 3-0 at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough. O’Connell was captain of the team as they clinched the title following a 1-1 draw with Scotland at Windsor Park in Belfast.

Coaching career

In 1922 O’Connell was appointed manager of Racing de Santander. He subsequently guided the team to five regional titles and in 1928 they became founding members of La Liga. After one season at Real Oviedo, he joined Real Betis, at the time known as Betis Balompie. In 1935, with a team that included Lecue, he led them to their one and only La Liga title to date. This success attracted the interest of FC Barcelona who appointed him as successor to Franz Platko for the 1935-36 season. With a squad that included Josep Escolà, Domènec Balmanya, Joan Josep Nogués and Enrique Fernández, O’Connell guided FC Barcelona to the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa de España final. In the final Barça played Madrid CF and with the Madrid club leading 2-1, Escolà was denied a late equalizer after a spectacular save by Ricardo Zamora.

During the 1936-37 season La Liga was suspended because of the Spanish Civil War. However clubs in the Republican area of Spain competed in the Mediterranean League and, under O’Connell, FC Barcelona won this title. During the summer of 1937 O’Connell took the club on tour to Mexico and the United States. They played fourteen games and opponents included Club América, CF Atlante, Necaxa and a Mexican XI. In the United States, they entered and won a tournament against a Brooklyn XI, a New York XI and a Hebrew XI. They finished the tour with a game against a USA XI. In financial terms this tour saved the club, but O’Connell returned to Spain with only four players while the remaining players chose to go into exile in Mexico and France.

By the 1937-38 season the Republican area was reduced in size and a second Mediterranean League was impossible to organise. However a Lliga Catalana, featuring just Catalan teams, was organised. Despite a depleted squad, O’Connell and FC Barcelona won both the Lliga Catalana and the Campionat de Catalunya. After leaving FC Barcelona, O'Connell went onto manage Sevilla FC between 1943 and 1945 before serving a second term as Racing de Santander coach between 1947 and 1949.