This Week in World Football: Portrayals of footballing passion

Football is the world’s most popular sport. The game has fans in all corners of the globe who follow their teams with their own unique traditions, values and displays of support and passion. This week in world football there were a few stories that highlighted just how differently fans across the plant show their love for our beautiful game.

WHO CARES ABOUT THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP (CWC)?

Apparently, Corinthians fans do. The CWC should be one of the most prestigious competitions in all of football. Any competition that crowns it’s winner Champion of the World at very least sounds important. However, with the competition taking place over the last week it was clear to see that in different parts of the world the CWC is judged in very different ways.

Stories have emerged this week of Corinthians fans selling their homes, quitting their jobs and borrowing money from anyone willing, showing just how passionate Brazil is about the CWC. Especially when compared to most Premier League fans, who were more likely just confused Chelsea didn’t feature in this weekend’s matches. I’d actually have felt bad for the 30,000 Brazilian fans in Japan if Chelsea had returned to London with the cup, where it would probably just gather dust on the shelves of Roman Abramovich’s second favourite yacht. Congratulations Corinthians, Brazil, South America.

A-LEAGUE FLARES UP

Displays of passion are also making news in Australia at the moment. The A-League are getting bigger crowds than ever before and the league looks like it is on the up, particularly with the introduction of new team Western Sydney Wanderers creating a Sydney Derby to go with the Melbourne Derby and already established Adelaide – Melbourne rivalry. Unfortunately the media constantly focus on so called ‘crowd trouble’ supposedly caused by these games and fans who use flares. Overlooked are the far more regular ejections of drunken fans at AFL, NRL and cricket games across the country.

Naughty little Adelaide Utd fans set off a flare during the game against the Melbourne Victory

Most people support the flares claiming they show the fans’ passion for the team. Why? Because fans in South America are famously passionate and they use flares? Using flares at an A-League game is a cheap way to create an atmosphere and is just how fans, new to game, think they should act. Most of the fans who had flares at my first A-League game this week were kids, more intent on trying to push one another on the pitch than watch the game. Are these fans really the standard bearers of Australian football fans, leading the crowd in chants with flares held aloft? If Australians are really passionate about their football teams they wouldn’t need flares to prove it.

SUNDERLAND FANS GIVEN LITTLE TO SING ABOUT, SING ANYWAY.

In the Premier League, Sunderland fans showed us all how it’s done and were praised by many for cheering on their

Sunderland Fans 2 (Photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald)

hopeless team right to the end of the game against Man United, despite watching a standard of football that probably would look poor even in the A-League. Despite this they out-sung United throughout, particularly in the last 20 minutes, when all was definitely already lost, and even I had come close to fast forwarding the recorded coverage of the game I was watching. Sunderland have always been inspirational in the stands, less so on the pitch.

FRENCH FANS STARVED OF HOME GAMES

In France, Ligue 1 side Bastia will be unable to feel the passion of their loyal fans after being banned from playing at home because of some violent incidents before and during their matches. “It’s great to say we can’t play at Bastia, but the gentlemen on the Disciplinary Commission need to tell me where we can play and how we get there” said the club’s President. His questions are all the more pressing after the club’s logistics official, Jo Bonavita, reacted to the ban by going on hunger strike.

SNOW TROUBLE FOR VENLO

Fans of Dutch team VVV-Venlo showed their commitment to the team in a unique way this week by helping the club shovel show prior to kick-off. The club are struggling in the top flight of Dutch football and were in desperate need of a win. Their latest fixture came extremely close to postponement because of snow and ice covering the pitch but fans picked up shovels and got to work. The game was played and Venlo repaid their supporters with a 3-1 win and this creative celebration. I wonder if someone got yellow carded for it?

Football makes fans do funny things for their love of the game and their team. It might not be easy to understand for fans of other teams, other sports or in other countries. But to some people, somewhere it all makes perfect sense.

Related articles

• Changes needed to earn FIFA Club World Cup the respect it deserves (thefansbase.wordpress.com)
• Who cares about the A-League (thefansbase.wordpress.com
• Corinthians: World’s craziest fans? (edition.cnn.com)
• Do fans need to suffer to appreciate football? (footballfancast.com)
• Bastia official starts hunger strike after club’s stadium ban (guardian.co.uk)