Sports Shorts: Pushy Parenting & GAA heroes

FAI and IFA announce joint Euros bidThe football associations of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have announced a joint bid to host the u21 European Championships in 2023.Although it’s the first time the two bodies have worked together on a bid, they have teamed up in the past to develop 3rd Level Football and Walking Football on the island. Representatives from the associations have said the only reason it hasn’t happened sooner was because of a lack of suitable facilities.The mere mention of the word ‘border’ sparks debates far and wide at the moment, but if our nation’s leaders take a look at the beaming faces of the two association’s chief executives standing together, it might just make them consider that teamwork may indeed make the dream work.GAA Stars and World War I1918 marks the centenary anniversary of the end of World War I and all those who died fighting in the conflict – including some of Ireland’s brightest GAA stars. Antrim’s William Manning was one of these. His promising career was cut short in 1916 when he enlisted for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. This was despite the GAA’s ban on their members being part of the Crown force. It seems Manning was not only a talented footballer but a formidable soldier too. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Sargent before unfortunately meeting his end in 1918.Interestingly, the players who survived were a lot less celebrated. Given the GAA’s prominence in the events of Easter 1916 and the ensuing War of Independence, sweeping the role of their members in helping the British under the rug was just fine with them.Pushy parenting these days, eh?A recent u8 game in Wales saw one parent take the expression ‘pushy parenting’ a tad too literally. As an opposing attacker makes a menacing run towards his son’s goal, a young boy’s father fixes the issue of his son having his back turned by taking matters into his own hands. He pushes his son to the ground resulting in him blocking the shot on goal. Unfortunately, even with his dad’s help, he can’t quite palm it far enough away to avoid the rebound being tapped in. The exasperated dad throws his hands into the air as the ball hits the back of the net and the video has now been viewed over 27 million times. I guess we all just want our kids to succeed!Bohs get Bob Marley blues:Bohemian’s new away jersey caused quite a storm among football fans with orders for it arriving in from countries across 5 different continents in recent weeks. Why? Well, it had Bob Marley’s face on it. The musical icon’s son even described it as “the dopest shirt I’ve ever seen”.Unfortunately neither he, nor anyone else, will be able to get their hands on one any longer. Bohemians have been forced to remove Marley’s face from the shirt due to licensing issues, to be replaced by a clenched fist (signalling unity).The shirt had originally been commissioned to pay tribute to the fact that Marley’s last outdoor concert was at Bohemian’s stadium, Dalymount Park, in 1980.