Why I believe this
Having travelled all over the world, I always tried to connect with the cities and countries I visited with a general outlook, embracing all aspects of the culture, but struggled to adapt. However, immersing myself in a country’s culture through football opened my eyes to the reality that the universal and unifying nature of football is binding and fundamentally the best way to connect with like-minded locals. Football breaks down the barrier for me to understand a country’s culture and the local people.
Football is consumed and celebrated differently all over the world, but football as a concept connects billions of people across the planet. The mindset of different sets of supporters is often a mirror of the country’s social and political behaviours. By the end of this article, you’ll understand why the world’s most popular sport reveals more about a country than any museum or guidebook.
Football as a shared language
Cultures differ across the planet, especially football cultures, but what remains the same is the unwavering and unilateral support of football fans. One of the best things about travelling for football is that you don’t need to be fluent in the local language to embrace the passion and culture. Even when you don’t share words, you share context. Everyone inside the stadium understands what’s happening, and all emotions inside the stadium are universal: frustration towards referees, goal celebrations and that sinking feeling when the full-time whistle blows after a defeat. The reactions of football supporters are instinctive and not premeditated; this contributes to an authentic and real atmosphere. The shared moments replace any conversation, the elation of scoring a last-minute winner and the gut-wrenching feeling of conceding; these are moments that contribute to creating beautiful moments between strangers for 90-minutes.
Emotions are universal on matchday
At football you will experience every emotion, joy, frustration, tension, disbelief and ecstasy. Every one of these emotions looks the same inside a stadium, regardless of where in the world you find yourself. A last-gasp winner produces the same raucous celebrations everywhere.
Every country, city, league and team has its own unique matchday rituals, which make every location you visit special. Common gestures and habits are instantly recognisable, loud groans when someone misses a chance, applause for a hard tackle and abuse towards the referees. What makes every team different is the chants they sing, clapping patterns and the potential influence of “Ultras”.
On a matchday, everyone supports their team in unison. No matter your background, you all turn up to support the team you love. Inside a stadium, social and cultural barriers often lower and strangers become friends for 90-minutes. During the game, everyone is desperate for the same outcome, reacting in the same way for the same reasons. Being a part of a football fanbase gives you a sense of belonging and a bond without invitation. Connections to a football club are passed down through generations, contributing to an evergreen community.
These reasons all contribute to football being the best avenue to go down when trying to understand a country’s culture. Even in unfamiliar places, football connects us to thousands of strangers, and in a stadium full of random people, you feel a sense of familiarity.
The stadium as a mirror of society
The stadium itself is a large-scale divide for different football fans. Where people sit in the stadium often reflects wider social divisions. The varying pricing of football tickets appeals to different demographics. Hospitality areas attract a very different type of supporter from those who reside in the standing or ultras section, quietly demonstrating a social divide.
Different sections of the stadium offer very contrasting experiences at the football. The differences are far more telling than the view from your seat. Hospitality prioritises comfort and a luxury experience, whereas traditional stands prioritise tangibly contributing to the betterment of the atmosphere. Football clubs are symbols of their regional identity and a source of local pride. Accents, rivalries, banners, history and chants shape a club. Regional rivalries have significant connotations to mirroring society. Often, cities ingrained in a working-class culture will have a rivalry with contrasting aristocratic regions. Local references within chants are one of the most obvious ways that local identity presents itself.
Across the world, different football clubs carry political and historical meaning with past and present connections to social change, movements and various involvements regarding political situations. Liverpool football club are a prime example of this. Liverpool’s mixed political history led to complete dissociation with the country, destroying national identity.
To this day, Liverpool FC still boo England’s national anthem. The conservative-led government used terms such as “managed decline” when referring to the future of the city. The immense sense of local pride in the city led to an overwhelming unification within the Scouse community. The supporters still sing chants that are politically charged towards the conservative regime. The cities’ working-class origins contribute to a defiant society who refuse to lay down.
The physical stadium is a mirror to society. The contrast in the quality and style of stadiums often reflects societal changes. Newly built state-of-the-art stadiums offer a more comfortable and safe matchday. Traditional stadiums are a symbol for their local communities and reflect the supporters who attend. When viewed through this lens, stadiums become more than just a place to watch football. They offer an insight into the differing nature of supporters and how they often mirror the city they inhabit.
Matchday routines and daily life
Football culture is far more than just the 90-minutes In the stadium. Daily routines are adapted to blend in with the football, creating a matchday culture. The matchday begins the second supporters wake up. Football fans can be extremely superstitious and follow strict pre-match routines to ease nerves, some believing their behaviours can have a physical impact on the outcome. Meeting friends, going to the same pub and walking a specific route to the stadium, all these factors all give their matchdays a unique structure. Fans will gather in regular meeting spots, which will become a hub for all supporters to generate pre-match atmosphere.
Kick-off times have a significant impact on these pre-match routines. Weekend games allow for drinking in the bars before, whereas midweek games can restrict this due to people’s working schedules. Early kick-offs also make a difference as people’s routines may be affected due to the limited time pre-match to fulfill usual activities. Night games at the weekend give people more flexibility to execute pre-match rituals, and due to the large amounts of time they have to socialise in the bars pre-match.
How the city changes on matchday
The excitement that matchday brings transforms a city overnight. Sections of the city often switch from quiet and calm to loud and bustling. Public transport, streets and neighbourhoods near the stadium begin to fill with colour, noise and movement. Road closures lead to thousands walking towards the same destination, making the matchday feel alive. All these various routines and pre-match rituals show how deeply rooted the passion for football is. Football is not altered by routines; it is the routine. Matchdays completely change the atmosphere within a city.
Football and national identity
Football is more than just a game; football’s impact transcends the football stadiums and filters into everyday life. It contributes to the nation’s mood and people’s feelings in day-to-day life.
The national team as a shared symbol
Football is an incredibly divisive sport; every country has hundreds of football clubs at various levels. Supporting different teams over others leads to tribalism and rivalry. Throughout domestic league campaigns, supporters are hard-wired to get joy from others’ demise. Club football dominates the majority of the footballing calendar, leaving little time for the country to all come together harmoniously.
The country’s national team serve as a beacon of national pride and promotes togetherness created by social identity. The population’s loyalty to its country outweighs club loyalties, regions and social divides. During major tournaments such as the World Cup, Euros and African Cup of Nations, people set aside domestic rivalries for the collective good of the nation. Flags, shirts and public screenings all enhance the atmosphere surrounding a nation’s football journey. A good tournament run can capture the heart and eyes of an entire nation and even engage non-football supporters.
Historic moments and collective memory
In this section, I will refer to my own personal experience of supporting my national team (England). Coming together with family, friends and even strangers in the pub create ever-lasting memories. Having watched my country lose consecutive Euro finals, my overriding memories of this tournament bring me immense pride despite ending in heartbreak. The rollercoaster of emotions that these tournaments entailed will never be forgotten and will be talked about through generations.
Pride, pain and emotional investment
Achieving international sporting successes becomes a source of national pride like no other. On the flip side, embarrassment and failure can lead to frustration and very negative feelings that sweep through the nation. For some countries, football paves the way for them to express emotions that otherwise may remain silenced.
Regardless of the outcome, success and failure have a subtle effect on the mood of a country. A serious defeat can lead to negative press and controversial behaviours in the immediate short-term. Workplace chatter and media tone are two areas dominated by football outcomes.
International football offers a country the chance to come together as one, bound by national pride, patriotism and unity. The country goes through various emotions, analysing a country’s relationship with its national team is an amazing way to understand the country and delve Into Its society and culture.
What you miss if you don’t go to a match
When visiting a country, you can have varying experiences based on the way you want to explore it. Visiting tourist attractions and national landmarks is great, but does it provide you with a real, authentic insight into the place you visit?
Visiting popular bars and restaurants creates good but generic memories. I believe being surrounded by genuine locals who all share a similar passion is a special way to connect with the places you visit. You experience raw emotion and an unfiltered culture that is not influenced by tourists and fueled entirely by passionate locals who are proud of their communities. People who ultimately share your main passion, football.
Football as a way to travel differently
This ties directly to the aim and premise of my website. Football-based travel is a great way to travel differently compared to generic travel. Going beyond capital cities and unearthing gems I would never visit otherwise. Overlooked cities for normal travel can become sensational football trips, some of the most unique fan cultures and atmospheres take place in the least suspecting cities. The different ways of life compared to capital cities and rural areas of a country offer an insight into different ways of life. Football is an excellent entry point to access local cultures. Football can be used as a tool for helping understand countries and cities beyond the sport.
Who this way of travelling is for
This method of travel is for people with a passion for football. My passion for football directly ties into my passion for travel. Experiencing the world through football has provided me with amazing opportunities and unforgettable experiences. People who are not connecting with generic tourist travel may benefit from freshly embracing new cultures.
This way of travelling is a slower and more restricted method due to kick-off times and journey lengths. If you are someone who enjoys a relaxed style of travel, whilst also being happy to have a looser structure to their day rather than a regimented itinerary, this is for you. It is perfectly suited to solo travellers and potentially more suited to solo travel rather than group travel. Travelling alone puts the onus on you to connect with the locals rather than being tied to your own group.
Overall, I believe football travel is an amazing way to travel the world, connect with a diverse array of cultures, experience amazing atmosphere and create lifelong memories. Football is unpredictable, and by connecting with locals, you never know what opportunities may present themselves.
Planning your own football journey?
For me, football helps me to understand a country far more comprehensively than any other way. I believe, given the chance, football can become the anchor for all your travelling adventures!
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