""There are loads of people in London, but it can feel like a lonely place," explains Kieran Duff on the stroll through Russell Square, still stewing on the fact he has forgotten his football socks for the big game. "Hopefully someone has a spare pair." In the changing rooms, a welcoming, ready-made friendship group of Newcastle-supporting team-mates pull on black and white jerseys while musing about early season defeats by Juventus and Inter Milan. No one brought extra socks."
""It feels silly to say, but it does feel different playing in the kit and colours," says Newcastle Supporters' Club captain Tom King. "There is a little bit of your brain that is like 'I am playing for Newcastle here'. It makes you connect with the club in a way I haven't with any other football club I have played for.""
""We won the league last year, after eight years we finally managed to win it, so we put a star on top of our crest," beams Ludo Romagnoli, who was born in Modena before moving to Brazil and then came to London for university. "I feel so much pride representing our club." "It is more fun to face people who feel the badge, the colours, and have that passion for the club they are representing," adds Pedro Aguilar, from Real Madrid London."
London hosts a vibrant Supporters' League where fans from numerous European clubs gather to play in full club colours, from Newcastle and Aston Villa to AC Milan, Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio. Players form ready-made friendship groups in changing rooms, share travel anecdotes, and sometimes forget kit essentials. Wearing club jerseys generates a strong sense of identity and pride, with captains and players describing a psychological connection to their teams while playing. Champions celebrate achievements with symbols like a star on the crest. Matches take place in central venues such as Coram's Field, transforming mild weekend afternoons into communal celebrations of club allegiance and shared stories.
Read at www.bbc.com
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