DIEGO Maradona stands proudly, holding the blue and white jersey with the number 10 front and back.
Except rather than the Argentina shirt he so famously wore, it’s the strip of the local Éire Óg GAA club in Fujairah, which is the north-eastern corner of the United Arab Emirates.
Regarded by many as the greatest footballer of all time, the 1986 World Cup winning legend has been in charge of Fujairah FC since the beginning of their 2017/18 season.
While he lives most of the time in a villa in Dubai, Maradona spends some of his days in Fujairah itself, staying in a hotel.
And when one of the club members fell into Maradona’s path through work, they managed to secure an invitation to attend a training session.
Padraig Kennedy, Rebecca Marr and Andrew Hogan went along and got the chance to speak with Maradona, using the precious minutes to educate him and a few of his entranced players on the GAA and the games themselves.
“Although he wasn't aware of the game until now, we hope to have a challenge game in the near future with Fujairah FC,” said Clare native Hogan, who captains the men’s side.
The Éire Óg club was only founded eight months ago by a group of young Irish teachers, and they have since been competing in regional blitzes in the Middle East.
The doors have been swung open to all comers and out of 40 members (interestingly made up of five different nationalities, and with a solid troupe from Donegal), they are able to field two mens teams and a ladies team.
