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Tamil Eelam footballers celebrate Isle of Man national day

After a glorious win for Tamil Eelam on Thursday, the team had a day off to rest, train and explore the local culture.



Friday saw the visiting teams celebrate the Tynwald Day festival, a Manx national holiday. The Tamil Eelam team, attending in their team tracksuits, generated interest around the open air festival as locals flocked to the players  to congratulate the team and express their support.

Tamil Eelam players get involved in local festivities





As testament to the popularity of Tamil Eelam on the island, the team's official Tynwald Hill merchandise has been selling the fastest, with some items, such as the official pennants, already sold out.



After some light training in the afternoon, the team went to watch the second game in their group, yesterday's opponents Sealand against Occitania, who Tamil Eelam will take on Saturday.

Players get ready for a light training session





The Tamil Eelam players and manager Ragesh Nambiar observed carefully in preparation for their game against Occitania, who secured an overwhelming 9-0 victory.



Nambiar told Tamil Guardian that he expected a tight match but he trusted his team to stay focused, alert and confident to pull off a spirited game.

Tamil Guardian managed  to catch up with the team at the end of their rest day:

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