Another self-indulgent trip down memory lane to the imaginary European club empire of my youth: here for part 1, part 2 and part 3.
Today’s entry features the Irish and Portuguese arms of that universe, Meadowbrook Rovers and SC Aveiro.
When I was around ten and somehow believed I would one day own a big farm despite not growing up on one, Meadow Brook Farm was the name I had in mind and so that moniker was retained.
Cork City were the starting point – Ford had a factory in Cork until 1984 – but they had changed from green and white home kits to red in 1997 and the substitution of navy for red was a protest of sorts.
In the spirit of City’s regular changes of style, the backstory was that in 1999 Meadowbrook had decided to mix things up by making the 1998-99 green home away kit (to be used in all away matches where possible), with a new home introduced, based on the Tottenham Hotspur away design.
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The 1998 Ireland rugby change strip also served as some inspiration.
However – in another of those contrived coincidences that Charles Dickens would reject as too unbelievable – an FAI Cup game against a side in a kit based on Cork GAA club Douglas meant that the old 1997-99 white away kit had to be called on.
I didn’t know it at the time, when I searched the family atlas for towns near Oporto, that one of the Euro 2004 stadiums would be called Estádio Municipal de Aveiro. I was also unaware that the town was home to Beira-Mar, a top-flight club back then but who were demoted to the fifth level of the Portuguese pyramid in 2015 due to financial mismanagement.
It may not be immediately apparent, but Cork City also had some influence in coming up with the SC Aveiro kit, which used a Borussia Mönchengladbach design that deserved wider exposure.
The colours are taken from the well-loved 1993-96 City away kit, the one I wore as a mascot for a game against Derry City in January 1994. The amber socks on the white change kit were chosen so as to be a better alternative for the home strip if required to be used due to a clash.
As ever, feedback is welcome, along with requests for future FKFs – comment below or get in touch on Twitter or Bluesky.
