Posted on 22nd March 2010
England travel to Amsterdam this Friday to take on Holland in the first of two international friendlies being played over the next week.
Free Lions’ 100th Edition
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
Well, who’d’ve thought it? The free fanzine that has become a staple of England fans at matches both home and abroad is celebrating its 100th birthday. From humble beginnings at the European Championships in Belgium and Holland in 2000, we’ve come a long way.
What started life as ‘The Lowdown’ (a clever play on the advice we were giving, as well as the fact the tournament was being held in ‘the low countries’) has now outlasted four England managers (Keegan, Taylor, Eriksson and McClaren). Free Lions is now a key part of the matchday ritual for thousands of England fans.
By way of marking the occasion, we produced a special celebratory issue for the recent friendly against Egypt at Wembley, although don’t go expecting all those extra pages every time!
Issue 100 features articles from the Sunday Mirror’s Brian McNally, a look ahead to the venues England will be visiting in this summer’s World Cup, and some lovely congratulatory messages, including one from Fabio Capello, no less. There’s also a bumper Free Lions 100 question football quiz, featuring our favourite teasers from each previous issue.
The fanzine is now available through our shop for the bargain price of £1, which is just enough to cover our postage and packaging – the essence of Free Lions; that it’s, er, free, still remains.
You know what else is free? Membership of the FSF, so sign up today!
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