How to pick a soccer team to support

Are you new to the sport of soccer? Have you caught the quadrennial World Cup fever, and want to keep your interest in the game going? Do you casually watch footy year-round, but want to take your support to the next level? Then you need to know how to pick a soccer team to support – and we’re here to help.

Choosing a team to support can be a heavy undertaking. French and Manchester United legend Eric Cantona is quoted as saying “You can change your wife, your politics, your religion, but you can never change your favorite football team.” It’s not quite as dire as all that, but it is true that the roller coaster ride of emotions and memories you experience will vary wildly depending on who you throw your weight behind.

So here’s a handy list of do’s – and do not’s – when choosing which soccer team to support.

International teams

This facet of world soccer is easy to tackle. To be straightforward, simply go with your home nation, the one you live in or feel most closely associated to, or with which you have family heritage. It can be tough going if you hail from a smaller nation or one that isn’t a traditional world power, but there is still immense meaning in the international game – even if your team may never lift the World Cup.

For the more hipster-inclined fan, there is an oft-overlooked segment of the international game out there which may be appealing. There are teams representing states, peoples, and regions that aren’t recognized by FIFA. Generally overseen by the organization CONIFA, these teams represent places like Tibet, Hawai’i, and Yorkshire. They even have their own World Cup competition!

So find the national team that represents you best, wave that flag and enjoy the ride!

How to pick a soccer team to support

Choosing a club to support is a much more nuanced, and important, decision. There are thousands upon thousands of clubs around the world, and club soccer is played much more often than the international game. So there are more matches to watch, in more competitions, at more times throughout the year. And that means more chances for glory… and for misery.

So here are some tips on how to set about finding your perfect match:

Location, location, location

I simply cannot stress this enough, but there is perhaps no better application to the phrase “support your local” than soccer. No matter where you are in the world, there is very likely an adult mens and/or women’s club within reasonable driving distance.

Yes – following a massive club in one of the world’s major leagues is a fun pursuit. But there is absolutely nothing that compares to attending in person and being a part of the atmosphere and culture of a club. The friendships and memories you make supporting your local club can change your life (it certainly changed mine – I met my wife at a Fort Lauderdale Strikers match).

And if you happen to be blessed with one or more major professional teams in your immediate area, that’s great too! Between MLS, USL and NISA, there are 86 professional teams playing (including announced expansion teams) across the US. On the women’s side, NWSL offers 12 teams with number 13 and 14 on the way soon, and the USL Super League will soon arrive, bringing more women’s pro sides across the country.

And beyond the professional levels, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of amateur clubs sprinkled across the continent in leagues such as the NPSL, USL2, UPSL and others – many of which showcase terrific talent and great gameday atmospheres. As proven in locales such as Detroit and Chattanooga, when the community comes out in force and supports a club, even a small amateur team can have an atmosphere and culture that rivals bigger professional outfits.

So find your closest club and give them a look – even if they are just an amateur level team kicking around at a local park. It can be incredibly rewarding. And if that club is a lower-level domestic side in the US, they more often than not they need your support. Buying tickets, watching games, even just being willing to wear a t-shirt around town to spread the word can go a long way for a club.

Family ties: How to pick a soccer team to support

While you yourself might be new to going all-in on backing a club, you very likely have someone in your family or circle of friends who already does. Lots of people inherit their club from their parents of other family members, and generational support is what drives clubs’ long-term support base. Sports fandom is one of the greatest bonding experiences family, and friends, have had over the past couple of centuries in human development.

Plus, having a network of others, or even just a single friend, to get involved with supporting a club is incredibly beneficial. Having your heart set on becoming a Shimizu S-Pulse super fan and staying up late to watch the J2 League is cool. But without anyone to connect with it could be a less-than-rewarding endeavor. Of course, in the modern world it’s easier than ever to reach out to people from all over the world online, but having an in-person crew to share the experience with is a notch above.

Find a club that speaks to you

Some people says sports should be sports, and to leave politics out of it. But these two areas of life are often intrinsically intertwined at the most basic of levels.

Many clubs – or their owner(s) – are outspoken in their support of causes beyond the pitch. Human rights, LQBTQ+ inclusion, opposition to war, rebuffing the obscene commercialism in the modern game – these are among the issues many clubs publicly tackle.

Of course there are often other, more politically benign, activities clubs engage in. Supporting local charities, providing supplies to school kids, visiting hospitals, and other kinds of community engagement. Look into the ways a club reaches out to their community and see if it’s something you yourself can get behind. On the flip side, watch for any red flags – the way a club treats its supporters and its community. For instance, you may not want to get on board with a club that overcharges its fans and supports something such as the European Super League.

Scope out the supporters

Most clubs have one or more organized supporter groups. For better or worse, these fans often can paint much of the picture of a club’s image. Seek out the supporters of a prospective club. Check out their social media channels and website. See what they’re up to, when they gather – and what they support. Even if a club itself doesn’t actively engage in any political or cultural stances, supporters often very much do, and it can definitely inform whether or not you want to be associated with that club.

Even if you’re looking to support an overseas outfit, there are very often local supporters groups in your area that get together to watch matches. Be it for a local or faraway club, there are opportunities for watch parties, road trips, tailgates and other social outings, so you definitely want to see if there’s a group of like-minded folks you can get in with to support together!

Select for aesthetics

It may seem trivial, but the visual look of a club is massive part of its identity, and as a supporter, it inevitably becomes a part of your identity. And a mediocre badge design or outlandish kits can easily be a turnoff (just ask Leeds fans and others who’ve revolted against club rebrands in the past).

Failing all else, find a club with colors and an overall aesthetic that you find attractive. When I was younger, I found myself casually supporting Wolves and Club América after I was flipping through the leagues in FIFA picking a team for the career mode and liked their logos the best.

Those are just a few things you should do to help you find a club. But there are also a few things to try and avoid:

Don’t be a glory hunter

It may be tempting to just latch onto a perennial winner. Don’t do it. Don’t be that person.

If you’ve got a legitimate reason you want to get behind a club such as Real Madrid, Boca Juniors, or Manchester United, then by all means go for it! They’re wonderful, historic teams with rich fanbases and club cultures. Plus it’s very easy to find team gear and keep up to date with the news for a big club. But don’t do it just because they’ve got rooms full of trophies and mountains of cash at their disposal.

Sure, in many leagues there are only a few teams that have a realistic shot at winning a championship, but don’t just pick a team that lives at the top of the table for that reason alone. The joy of winning isn’t nearly as sweet if it has been tasted at every trophy ceremony across the globe in a different colored shirt each year. Stick with a club, even in the tough times.

Support a club, not players

There are certainly more than a few world class players and exciting personalities out there that are a joy to follow, but don’t go switching your club allegiance when they do. The number of so-called “supporters” of teams such as Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus wildly skyrocketed in recent years when Messi and Ronaldo (briefly, in his case) signed on at those clubs, and frankly it’s a bit farcical.

Players, managers, and owners come and go. But a club, its supporters, and its community are everlasting. It’s cool if a certain player is your gateway to a club, but stick around for the long haul once they’ve gone!

Club > League

Don’t be a “Eurosnob.” Or MLS-snob, or Brasileirão-snob, etc. What does that mean? Well, simply put, don’t outright dismiss a club because it doesn’t play at what you consider to be a worthy level.

As noted above in the “support local” section, falling in love with a club can be an immensely rewarding, wonderful experience – even if that club is a local Sunday league team. Even if a club and/or its league seems sketchy and possibly doomed to fail, don’t let that necessarily stop you. Life-altering moments can await you even if you only make it to one game and then, sadly, a club folds. Your support might mean the difference between a club ultimately failing in its infancy, and surviving to one day become a cultural touchstone for generations.

And in today’s connected world, it can be as easy to follow your local NPSL side as it is a Premier League or MLS team. Every pro club in the USA has all of its matches available to stream and/or on TV, and many amateur sides stream matches and provide live social media updates as well.

Plus, remember that while one club will eventually truly have a special place in your heart above all others, it’s okay to follow more than one. Though soccer is one of the only sports where clubs from all over the world can theoretically play each other in competitive matches (through continental tournaments and the Club World Cup), it’s incredibly unlikely that your local USL team and Tottenham will ever face off, forcing you to into a conflict of interest.

There’s no real right or wrong way to do it, but we hope these insights will help you navigate how to pick a soccer team to support. At the end of the day, it’s about enjoying the game, and following a team is the best way to do it!