Billy Bingham, former Northern Ireland manager and player, dies aged 90

Billy Bingham, who led Northern Ireland to the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals, has died at the age of 90. Bingham played for clubs including Sunderland and Everton and for Northern Ireland before becoming a manager.

He won 56 Northern Ireland caps between 1951 and 1963 and played at the 1958 World Cup. The country did not qualify for the finals again until his second spell as the manager almost 25 years later.

Bingham also had spells as manager of teams including Everton and Greece. He spent the longest stint of his playing career at Sunderland and was later part of the Everton squad that won the title in 1963.

Glentoran, where he started his playing career, tweeted: “Everyone at Glentoran is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Billy Bingham. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the club go out to Billy’s family and friends at this time.”

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