As an American I admittedly know very little about the sport, but I’ve learned a lot since the world cup. Playing FIFA, I’ve sorta been able to get a feel for the big teams, but I feel like I don’t really understand the culture.

As I understand it, the Premier league is the most showy and has the most wealth, but the Bundesliga has the most fan-centric culture (I’ve even heard 2. Bundesliga games have a better atmosphere), and La Liga has El Clasico and huge stadiums.

Obviously I’m missing a lot when it comes to football culture, but I’m hoping you guys can help fill me in. What’s special about football culture in your country?

23 comments

  1. I’m not a fan of football but as a Poznań citizen I know that one of Lech Poznań chants (if I can call it that) is turning back and jumping together when the team scores.

    The British fans liked it so much when they came over for a game here. They took it and ran with it ever since. They call it [Doing the Poznan](https://youtu.be/WKWO9X4a6xY).

  2. Here, in Ireland, contrary to what most other Europeans call it, we call it soccer but it’s for good reason I’ll get to. We love a good bit of shagging on the English when they lose but mostly we just play it ourselves, at home and have a few county-to-county matches, our international team isn’t good and we don’t mind. Internationally, we care about rugby more. What we do call football is a sport called Gaelic football, we obviously would only play it within the country with a few other teams and unlikely international matches cropping up in places like the states and Australia. Gaelic is a bit of a weird mix of rugby and soccer, I’d recommend you’d check it out! While you’re at it, take a look at Hurling too!

  3. Football is by far the most popular sport in France and has been for a very long time. Our national team had several good generations with good results (World Cup semi-finals in 1958, 1982 and 1986 + a Euro in 1984) and peaked in 1998-2000 with the first world title and second Euro. I won’t mention the 2006 WC final… We’re again at the top level since the second WC in 2018.

    But while the national team is very popular, club football is a bit less apart from some cities (typically paces like Marseille, Lens, Saint-Etienne and even Paris). Some people are really into it but, from my experience, it’s nothing like Barcelona, Madrid or Liverpool. Fans regularly complain about the lack of football culture in France.

  4. The supporter culture, definitely. The Swedish top division, Allsvenskan, is far from being one of the better leagues in Europe being ranked 22nd, but there is still a big interest around many of the teams. Just yesterday, a Stockholm derby was played between [AIK and Hammarby](https://youtu.be/3JyqZpK6bTU), which was attended by more than 40,000 people.

    Another interesting thing about Swedish football and sports in general is the [51-percent rule](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/50%2B1_rule#Other_countries), which means that no single person can own a sports club. Instead, it is the members of the club who hold a majority which means that virtually any supporter that is a member also have the possibility to influence the governance of the club. This has, for example, led to the Swedish league being the only top division among the 31 highest ranked leagues in Europe that has not decided to introduce VAR, as members of several top flight clubs have voted that their clubs should work against the introduction of it.

  5. Football is obviously very popular in Germany. Most children (mainly boys?) play it at least sometimes, it’s a common sport in PE, adults sometimes play with colleagues, and it’s the (annoyingly to me) most common topic of office small-talk.

    The whole country is divided into multiple leagues, sub-dividing on the regional or even city district level. If you’re a soccer fan you most likely have a working knowledge of what’s going on in the first 3 leagues.

    If there’s a game on a day and you pass by any bigger road or the local train station, you will know. (People wearing their scarves and jerseys).

    Culturally, it is a hot-bed for dumb, aggressive, racist assholes; albeit some clubs are known for being more left-wing or sophisticated. Honestly, clubs like FC Hansa Rostock (my hometown club) is so full of Nazis, it’s not fun anymore. Going to games in most West German countries though will be completely fine.

  6. German here.

    What is special in Germany is what we call the [50+1 rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50%2B1_rule). Most of the teams used to be part of what is called a “eingetragener Verein” ([registered association](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_association_(Germany)) which means they were run as not-for-profit organisations. Most of the clubs now turned the professional football part of the club (they usually also have other sports) into companies. But the 50+1 states that the majority share has to belong to the eingetragene Verein. Everybody can become a member in that (usually costs about 100€ a year) and once a year there is a big meeting (I don’t know how to translate it better) where the members can speak their mind. They can also vote for example for the president of the eingetragene Verein who usually is a board member in the company. Also, the 50+1 obviously means that (unlike England for example) it isn’t possible for a rich person to buy the club and do whatever with it.

    Most stadiums have a standing area where the loudest fans are. They chant the entire game and sometimes they do what is called a choreography before a game (either an important game / against a big rival / anniversary of one of the big supporters groups).
    Here are some examples of my favorite club: [1](https://youtu.be/BGBLQ4A1hKc), [2](https://youtu.be/4t77x5UefJA) & [3](https://youtu.be/b5ndGXDooE8).

    Also [here](https://youtu.be/UUS3paRE9Xg) is a video of an American at his first German football game. Just to add: this was at the most high risk game that there is at my favorite club, the fireworks are forbidden and in my 20 years as a season ticket holder this was the only one that came close to being cancelled during the game due to fan behavior. He also has other videos at football games.

  8. Scotland is football daft. We’ve got two mega clubs from Glasgow in Celtic and Rangers who have a unique culture themselves. Celtic formed from the Catholic Irish immigrant population of the late 19th century and became very successful. Rangers were (became?) the establishment club of the native protestant population. They are both tremendously successful and we argue with each other over who is the most successful. We also annoy every other team in the league with our constant bickering. Other towns and cities have good sized clubs but none come close to the size of either of these two.

    Our glory years of producing world class footballers in Scotland has passed. Between the mid 60s and late 70s, we had the right mix of talent, aggression and athleticism that has now passed. We favour aggressive football play when the game is won more now by technical ability and disciplined tactics.

    Things are in the rise to an extent with us now producing players good enough to play at top European teams but there’s not many of them and there’s no one truly world class.

    The glory of football is not just in who you want to win, it’s as much about who you hate and want to lose. That’s a lived experience though. No idea how people can get into football and then suddenly proclaim that they “hate” a rival team. It’s not just about them getting beat, it’s seeing their fans suffer at work the next day. It’s going up to your brother-in-law and cheering in face that his team is shite and he is as well by proxy. Dunno how fans from other countries can watch the football without that aspect of it.

  9. For the UK, I think the most unique thing about its football culture is the huge number of well supported clubs there are in the country.

    The Premier League gets a lot of attention, but there’s loads more outside of that. England and Scotland have four leagues of professional teams, while Wales and NI each have their own leagues as well.

    In England in particular these lower leagues are of a good quality. In many other countries the second division has a big drop in quality and support, and after that it’s often down to semi-professional. The Championship, England’s second level, would make for a decent top level division in many other countries, and there’s professional teams right down to the fifth level (mostly).

    Once you hit the amateur level, the number of teams is huge. Every town and village will have a team, often several. There can’t be many parts of the country where you are not within a short drive of a football stadium of some kind, even if it is at a low level.

  10. In Poland we have term that (I think) is not used anywhere else – Dyed Foxes. Dyed Fox is footballer (or any sportsman) that playes for not his national team. In Poland this term is kinda controversial (especially In 2012) and when there is something about footballer that is not 100% from Poland, but can play, this term and it’s history are always mentioned.

  11. In Germany’s Ruhr area you have a bunch of first and second league teams close together who tend to have longstanding rivalries. As you’ll likely know these teams aren’t franchises that can be moved from A to B at will, but are teams with a history of 100+ years.

    So, Leon Goretzka (from Bochum, so eglible to say such a thing) said
    >”Ich bin ein Kind des Ruhrgebiets. Da antwortet man auf die Frage nach der Nationalität mit Schalke, Dortmund oder Bochum.”

    > I’m a child of the Ruhr area. There, you answer the question of your nationality with [Schalke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Schalke_04), [Dortmund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borussia_Dortmund) or [Bochum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VfL_Bochum)

    Other common sayings are that you don’t pick a club you’re a fan of, but you’re born to be / chosen by one.

    To draw a comparison about the franchise system: In Germany you can – theoretically – start with a club in a local league, like “Kreisklasse B” or something – which is depending on regional structure sort of a 8th – 10th “league”. From there on you can always go upwards, year by year until you reach the first Bundesliga (as long as you fit the license requirements for the upper classes, which get more and more hefty the more you rise). In turn, being in the 1st Bundesliga doesn’t guarantee you anything. You can be relegated down to Kreisklasse if things go really bad.

    These extremes of course rarely happen, but every now and then even former champions or participiants fall down far in the system, while other teams rise. Of course, even though 50+1 (as explained by someone else) tries to pretend this, money is a big point who rises and falls, but investing a large amount of money guarantees you nothing at all in the German league system. You can’t buy your place in one of the leagues. The first three leagues are considered as professional leagues.

    You may say German isn’t an overly religious country. It is, you just replace church with football here.

    Another big thing (and loved by many) is the annual cup, the DFB Pokal:
    For this tournament (which is played all year across various rounds with weeks and months between, finishing shortly after the league), all members of the first two leagues are automatically qualified, + the first four third league teams (not counting B-teams of the bigger clubs). Additionally the 21 regional cup winners qualify + 3 teams from the biggest regions qualify.

    So, in the DFB Pokal you’ll always have teams like Bayern Munich fighting against sixth league teams. For these teams it’s the match of their life, while the big teams at times don’t treat these teams serious. So almost every season such a small team kicks one of the major teams out of the tournament, which is always given nationwide laughs.

  12. Comparing Czechia (country I come from) and Germany (country I live in) regarding football is quite interesting. **Based on what I think**:

    The game has certain popularity in Czechia. You will find some fans of club XYZ every now and then, some people play it themselves. There are people attending Czech football league, but as well quite some people who don’t consider czech league particularly good and consider themselves fans of foreign clubs. Fans of the local clubs are often quite weird nuts, drinking a bit more than needed and being overly agressive. The national championships are broadcasted in the TV, football fans usually watch them… But that’s about it. No crazyness. Ice hockey is more popular in this regard.

    My stay in Germany shown me what a football country looks like. Almost everybody has some favorite team. Often not even playing the top Bundesliga. I haven’t meet a single football nut so far, tho. And in times of World cup / European championship people often talk about it (even those who are normally not interested in football), radios and TVs constantly interviewing trainers and other memebers or even ex-members of the national team. It’s really everywhere.

    I was never really interested in football in Czechia, I actually quite disliked it… After two years in Germany I have attended two bundesliga games in person and couple of others in TV. I have to say the form it has in Germany has been so far friendlier and accessible to me.

  13. when i went to a stadiumcross race in Malaga. they spanish had the airhorns ofcourse. but the thing they had that was new to me. was they had chainsaws with the exhaust and cutting bits removed. they would just gun the engine and it was sooooooo loud in there. i love Spain so much

  14. Well top league teams have own fan clubs, chants etc…and ofc hooligans. Most hardcore ones are from Spartak Trnava and Slovak Bratislava. If those two teams play, you gotta have dozens of cops ready.

    Anyway nearby city and town are in it, so I can choose. But I usuallly prefer lower village leagues, coz it’s more fun to watch. Older men from both teams yelling vulgar stuff towards each other or referee, occasional fist fight between opposite teams etc…lol.

  15. Football is the larges/most popular sports in the country. Our national league is called the Eredivisie. Our club teams have won some major trophies in the past. However, those days are gone. The teams in our league aren’t as rich as some in other countries. So we became a feeder league with the best players move and young talents replacing them.

    Our national team (nicknamed Oranje, Orange in Dutch) is often praised for their attacking playing style known as total football, however often mocked because we rarely won anything. We lost 3 World Cup finals. Today our national team isn’t as good as they used to be.

    Although the Eredivisie isn’t as appealing as the English, Spanish or German leagues, it’s still the most popular here in The Netherlands. Every major city has their own club an has a large local support. But this isn’t unique to only The Netherlands.

    An interesting feature of Dutch football are the amateur teams. Even the smallest villages have their own football team. So there is an extensive network of amateur teams. A lot of kids grow up playing for the local team. There is a whole culture of vriendenteams ‘friendteams’ which play a match at Saturday or Sunday afternoon followed by the derde helft ‘third half’, having a drink (a beer, or 2😉).

  17. Regarding Greek Cypriot football, while not unique, it’s always very surprising to outsiders how politicised (and resistant to that changing) Cypriot football is. Given two of the three pieces of info (Hometown, Political Affiliation, Party Affiliation), you can quite accurately derive the missing information.

    Fan culture therefore tends to represent the most extreme manifestations of each fan-base’s political leanings and they are pretty much the only source of political violence in Cyprus after the 1980s. More recently, the extreme fan cultures on the right wing of the political spectrum are also undergoing in further division mirroring the increasing distance between liberal right (official party line) and hardcore nationalist (the party base in some districts, but not all). Such a further division on the left seems to have remained in the level of harsh words and “screw you, we are starting our own team which will achieve true communism” (and as far as I can tell, they are playing decent football, but I’m not quite sure it’s going to start a popular uprising any time soon).

    The roots of this split go back in 1948, when the echoes of the Civil War between Nationalists and Communists in Greece also split the Greek Cypriot society. While the worse physical violence was avoided in Cyprus then (but it did occur a decade later), it did lead to an arrangement that the Dutch and the Belgians called “pillarisation”. Societal and market institutions were duplicated, one (newspaper, grocery store, coffeeshop) for the nationalists one for the communists.

    Communist football players where expelled or demoted by their teams or they left after refusing to swear allegiance to the nationalist cause in Greece, and they formed their own clubs (you’ll see that many Greek Cypriot teams were established in 1948).

    During the worse years of the hostilities, the Cyprus Football Federation was also split into a nationalist rump federation and a communist independent league but it was proven financially unsustainable so they reunified during 1953-1954. The separate clubs nevertheless remained separate even in the reunified federation.

    Parallel events also affected other organised sports that also split into two political camps. Fan culture can be extremely polarised in those events too and recently there was a massive episode of violence in some very minor sport event.

    Independently of that, in 1995, the Turkish Cypriot teams withdrew from the Cyprus Football Federation after their participation in the league was temporarily suspended by the Greek Cypriot majority “to avoid provocations during the anti-colonial struggle” and formed their own federation, which made Cypriot football ethnically segregated ever since.

    So yeah, TL;DR: what’s unique about Cypriot fun culture is that it’s basically violent political extremism in a country that generally does not do political violence any more.

  18. Important to note that football/soccer in the UK is not just the Premier League though.

  20. Filling in for Italy:

    Some claim we invented the sport in the middle ages (see [calcio fiorentino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcio_Fiorentino)), but this is contested (mainly by the Brits). The country lives and breathes football, but to be fair our league has been somewhat in decline, following a golden era spanning from the 80s to the early 09s-00s.

    Italy is a country divided when it comes to football. Each city has its own teams, often two of them play a city derby in top tier, called Serie A. Northern teams won most titles, but some of them have been involved in nefarious match-fixing and ref-buying scandals (obligatory ‘JUVE MERDA!’). Italian football is tactical in nature, and thus a bit slower paced and more defensive than most other leagues. Some people dislike and criticise this, while others really enjoy it. Upside is that the game is more technical, and smaller underdog teams can make the life of top clubs difficult. Downside is less goals and matches which can end-up with reduced playtime as part of a ‘strategy’ of not letting your adversary play by slowing the game down.

    Either way, Serie A, ranks top 3 in my opinion, with the Spanish La Liga and the English Premiership ahead in terms of money and viewership. The Italian National team is currently pretty good, but generally regarded as an underdog in most tournaments. Even so, we hold 4 WC titles, and have won the last EC, defeating England in London.

  21. Football is by far the most popular sport here, and we fucking love English football considerably more than the national league. There is strong historical ties to England though, and English football has been broadcasted since the 70s.

  22. Pretty heavily celebrated here. My grandfather mentioned that when Denmark won the European Championships in ’92, it was the most celebration he’d seen in the streets since WWII ended.

  23. I don’t know if this is unique to Norway, but a peculiar aspect of Norwegian football fan-culture is that it cares a lot more about foreign football, English football in particular, than domestic football.

    Even growing up in Bergen, a city whose home team SK Brann is stereotyped as having the most serious ride-or-die loyal supporters in the country, most of the die-hard football fans I’ve met in my life have first and foremost been fans of English teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton, Aston Villa, Leeds etc, with Brann being firmly in the second tier of their personal “hierarchy” of support. My dad has supported Derby County FC since the ’70s and hasn’t really cared about Brann since the mid ’80s.

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