Yet another Saaremaa shirt thanks to my good friend Martti Pukk who plays for the team.
This is the current home shirt worn by Estonian First Divison team FC Kuressaare which also doubles up as the Saaremaa national team shirt when they play in the Island Games. I am told this shirt will be the one used in next year’s Island Games in Jersey.
For more information about FC Kuressaare and Saaremaa, check out my other shirt posts here and here.
The first addition to the blog in a while but it’s one worth waiting for. It’s another match worn shirt and another addition from the island of Saaremaa.
If you want to find out more about Saaremaa and their club FC Kuressaare, please check out my other shirt post.
This particular shirt is their home jersey and it was match worn in the 2007 Island Games in Rhodes. Unfortunately it wasn’t a very successful tournament for the Estonian island as they lost to the hosts 2-0 and the Norwegian municipality of Frøya 3-2 to go out at the group stage. Gibraltar would go on to win the competition, their first success.
I’d like to extend thanks once again to Saaremaa and FC Kuressaare legend Martti Pukk who went out of his way to help me – he is a true gent and part of the reason why I am now following Kuressaare as they battle to win promotion back into Estonia’s top-flight.
If you’ve looked at the pictures, you’re probably wondering why it has FC Kuressaare emblazoned on the shirt when I have listed it as a Saaremaa shirt. In fact, both are correct!
Saaremaa is the biggest island in Estonia and the main island in the Saare County. Kuressaare is the capital of Saaremaa and their football team play in the Esiliiga, the second tier in Estonia, after relegation last season. They have a ‘yo-yo club’ tag with 11 promotions and relegations since 1998. As a Birmingham City fan, I think I have found our Estonian counterparts!
The Saaremaa team competes in the Island Games and actually uses the FC Kuressaare shirt as its national jersey. Before the 2013 games in Bermuda, which most teams missed, it had competed in seven straight Island Games, finishing a best sixth place in both 2011 and 2005.
I would like to thank Saaremaa and FC Kuressaare legend Martti Pukk for helping me out massively in getting the shirt. Martti has competed for Kuressaare since 2004 and has been involved in all Island Games tournaments since 2005, scoring lots of goals for both sides over the years. He has informed me that this shirt was worn by Mark Svets, who has 16 caps for Estonia, in 2009 and Elar Tovstik in 2010.
The shirt itself is a very nice design and is the away shirt for both FC Kuressaare and Saaremaa. It’ll be great to see how the Saaremaa side do in the Island Games next year in Jersey and I’m hoping to add some more Kuressaare/Saaremaa shirts in the future!
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