You don’t choose the Club, the Club chooses you
Picture a 12-year-old Indian boy growing up in the UAE, who is obsessed with cricket, following the most random fixtures, knowing the most obscure statistics, intent upon making every aspect of his life associated with the sport.
However, he gets handed a copy of FIFA 14 for the Wii by his dad, thinking “what do I do with this?” He thinks football is “overrated”, he can never like this sport and will always know cricket is far superior.
But once he loaded that disc, and decided to choose FC Barcelona, playing in game with the likes of Lionel Messi and more particularly, Neymar, whose style both on and off the pitch, would change something in him for the rest of his life.
Now ten years on, after innumerable heartbreaks and disappointment, he still remains loyal to the Catalan club, despite never visiting Spain.
That boy is me.
Life as a Barcelona fan in the UK
I have now spent the last four years of my life in England, the birthplace of the beautiful game. However, when I confess my love for the Blaugrana, especially towards the local English populous, it raises some eyebrows. They see my brown skin and my mouth saying the words “I support Barcelona” and give a confused glare, as if their brain cannot compute those two facts together.
They then follow up with questions such as, “Are you from Barcelona?” or “What is your English team?” A drunk man cornered me in a bathroom at a Wetherspoons in Bath asking me these exact questions, and when I questioned him what team he supports, he just proudly exclaimed “Arsenal!”
Now I wouldn’t question him why he supports them? Or if he’s from London? So why did he have to ask me that?
A bigger world
Coming from countries without the flashiest football scenes supporting any team in Europe with a history of success is usually the only option for foreign fans. They may have a soft spot for their local teams, but would want to additionally follow a team with more notoriety and higher quality.
Proclaiming this love, especially in England, could label that individual as a “plastic” fan in the eyes of some of the locals. Tottenham boss, Ange Postecoglu echoed the frustrations of that tag.
The Australian stated the epithet as “harsh” in regards to global Tottenham fans who spend hundreds to come and see their favourite team in person. If anything, this does show how passionate they are towards their club.
By alienating these international fans, local supporters are essentially shooting themselves in the foot, as many mainstream European club’s fanbases comprise a huge chunk of international supporters, far greater than the local population of where the club may be based.
Look at Manchester United for example, who have 64 million followers on Instagram. The population of UK itself is just over 67 million people, so it seems obvious that a huge chunk of that fanbase comes from outside of the UK, with India having the biggest proportion, pushing nearly 35 million in numbers.
The Red Devils are well aware of this overseas support, and as an organisation, have capitalized on the following by hosting fan campaigns in the country involving Q and A sessions with former players such as Wes Brown.
Where does the dislike come from?
So if clubs have begun embracing international fans, albeit in a profitable sense, why do local supporters struggle to accept these fans?
A potential theory for this adversity could be the over-commercialisation conducted by these football clubs, which leads to an increase in pricing of club assets such as merchandise but more particularly tickets.
A valid example comes from Aston Villa, who understood the willingness of international fans to watch a game, and decided to charge up to £94 for UEFA Champions League fixtures for the 2024/25 season. This led to an outrage in the local community, as the fans believed the club prioritised profitability over fan interests, spoiling a momentous return to Europe’s biggest stage.
But this does not mean that international supporters should get the stick from the local community, as they are only trying to show their love and passion for their favourite team.
In the end, it comes back to that first moment, where you see that jersey, the players displaying their flair, that all important goal for the win, that you instantly fall in love with the sport.
It’s what resonates with you and inspires you as an individual, you don’t choose the club, the club chooses you.
