The postponement of last Thursday’s friendly match between Drogheda United and Trabzonspor was harsh reward for the imagination that has gone into building relationships between the two clubs.
Irish soccer has grown used to some top class European visitors in recent years. Juventus and Villareal stand out in European competition while Real Madrid made a pre season trip to Tallaght but none had the level of planning that Drogheda and its Turkish sister club had put in.
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[ismember]The sides have been ‘twinned’ since 2010, with Trabzonspor officially adopting Drogheda as its official sister club.  Much is invested in such an association and Drogheda’s facebook page and other social media sites regularly feature input and discussion from the Turkish club’s global fan base of around 6 million.
The original bond grew out of a shared club colours of claret and blue but what really made the connection was the crescent and stars that Drogheda incorporates in its club crest and which forms part of the Turkish national identity and flag.
In 2010 President Mary McAleese put the provenance of the club crest down to thanks for a shipment of food in famine time sent from the Sultan of Turkey. The likely reality has deeper roots and dates back to the granting of a charter to the city by Richard the Lionheart who had the symbols on his crest as a result of a bloodier connection through the crusades.
Whatever the history, in the present day soccer is forming an important link between the two regions.  Officials from the city and Trabzon region travelled last week and the trip was sponsored by Turkish airlines who also number Manchester United and until very recently, Barcelona among their supported teams.
The club had paid for its own travel arrangements and the fixture would have been a major boost to the Drogheda finances, attracting a large crowd from Europe and the UK and being televised live on Setanta.
It was a real shame that the match was lost but at least in the planning and getting it to that point the club had shown an imagination and a willingness to expand beyond the local hinterland to build connections through sport that will have further reaching benefits for the local area.
For that they deserve much credit.[\ismember]
 
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