words Alexa Wang
As a football fan, one of the bucket list items you should consider doing is attending some games with the fiercest atmosphere in world football. Here’s what you need to know about worldwide atmospheres.
Your Teams Away Days
Don’t underestimate how fun an away day of your team can be. It’s possible that you have only attended home games, as you couldn’t afford 20 away games a season, which is completely fair due to the costs in the country.
Consider picking one away game for your lower league team. If you can, travel with the fans on a supporter coach, in order to full immerse yourself. The atmosphere at the ground in your smaller away section will be more passionate, as it contains more hardcore fans.
Germany Does Football Different
You may or may not be aware that Germany treats their football fans differently compared to the majority of the UK. This was noticeable during the Super League scandal of 2021, when no German football teams signed up. That’s because of the 50+1 role, that means clubs memberships retain overall control of the club via shares, where those from outside the club cannot make decisions without them.
They also allow for beer within their football grounds, which is something that is illegal within the United Kingdom. The clubs also subsidise on railway travel for their fans to attend away games, whilst we know all about the train prices in England.
You have a few options for cities and clubs to visit. The biggest club by far is often reigning champions Bayern Munich. However, it is argued that the best club to go for atmosphere is with Borussia Dortmund. Known as the yellow wall, their main stand is all standing and tall, allowing fans to stand in their thousands, waving their yellow flags.
The club is also heavily connected with their fans, allowing you to experience the club fully, taking it all in. At the end of each game, the players go over to the fans to thank them and bow to them, and it’s a sight to behold.
You can research more about Germanys connections with football by looking at social media. 8 out of 10 of the most followed twitter accounts in Germany are related to football. This means they have some of the most influential social media accounts worldwide, according to the Travel Department, who have analysed social media accounts for different countries, to get a sense of what the culture is like.
South American Rivalry
When it comes to football in South America, they are most commonly known for the rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Always an intense game, these two play each other often, with many red cards being thrown about and flares being lit in the stadiums.
Not only are the game exciting to watch, due to how much is at stake, but the atmosphere building up the game is palpable, with the post-match depending on the game. It’s certainly worth attending the game as a one off just to experience it for yourself.
There’s many reasons why this game has become so intense, but the main reason is due to the fact that they are across the city from each other, only 7 kilometres apart. It is often referred to as the fiercest derby in the world, as a must attend game.
Grassroots Intensity
You’d be surprised at how much intensity can actually be found within grassroots football. Despite some grassroot clubs only having a few hundred spectators, it can often feel more personal when there is shouting happening right next to you.
As a player, this is much more intimidating than a bigger stadium, as the shouting and abuse won’t be drowned out, same for the referee. One of the best things you can do is follow a small grassroots club in your area during an FA cup run, or any cup run for that matter. Often times these are the games that sell out the most, and it could lead to some bigger teams visiting the stadium, which is always fun.
Visiting Turkey
Turkey is known for its intense football atmosphere, with top teams Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray often fighting it out on the pitch. These games are one of the only games that requires armoured police to keep the peace, and prevent fans invading the pitch.
Aside form that, it’s a must attend game for any football fan who’s looking to experience something different than what they’re used to. It’s not just these games that you should attend, but consider coming up for a champion’s league game against anyone. That’s when the country truly awakens, and looks to grab the attention and intimidate any clubs that come to the country. From a neutral perspective, it’s a great time.
