Fans

ChantsMain article: Football chant
Football chants are generated by fans at matches to encourage their team, insult the opposition, or just make a noise. Some clubs have their own anthems which the crowds sing. Some songs are shared between clubs. While some chants are used to mock opposition players, such as "Who Ate All the Pies?," others are more aggressive and of a personal nature against a player on the pitch. Some chanting can be more than insulting, and may even be racist or sectarian in nature. These type of chants tend to have been banned from football stadiums. FIFA and UEFA have both sanctioned "Say no to racism" campaigns to combat offensive chants and songs. Although FIFA and UEFA do not directly punish fans who partake in such discrimination, they do expect the domestic leagues and local stadiums to act upon the policies and control what fans say.

DisastersThere have been a number of accidents and disasters in the history of football. Some of these, such as the Hillsborough and Ibrox disasters, were due to problems with crowd control. The Heysel Stadium disaster was a combination of hooliganism and poor crowd control. The Bradford City stadium fire was due to poor fire safety in the stadium. Lessons learned from these disasters have led to safer football stadia.

Fair Play campaignFair Play is the name of a FIFA programme which aims to increase sportsmanship as well as prevent discrimination in the game of football. This also involves programmes to reduce racism in the game. The programme extends to outside of football, in trying to support charities and other organisations which improve conditions around the world.

The principles of the Fair Play programme can be summarised as follows:

1.Play fair
2.Play to win but accept defeat with dignity
3.Observe the laws of the game
4.Respect opponents, team-mates, referees, officials and spectators
5.Promote the interests of football
6.Honour those who defend football’s good reputation
7.Reject corruption, drugs, racism, violence, gambling and other dangers to our sport
8.Help others to resist corrupting pressures
9.Denounce those who attempt to discredit the sport
10.Use football to make a better world
Both FIFA and UEFA have awards which they hand out to individuals or groups of people who have promoted what they see as the spirit of Fair Play, both within and outside of football. An example of this was the Italian player Paolo Di Canio who, while not given an award, was congratulated by many sections of the football world for a generous display of Fair Play. Despite having a goal scoring opportunity while playing for West Ham United against Everton, when Di Canio saw the Everton goalkeeper had picked up an injury, instead of scoring what could have been the easiest goal of his career, he caught the ball, thus stopping play and allowing the goalkeeper to receive treatment.

Food and beverageIn the United Kingdom, attendance at football matches is associated with the consumption of traditional football foods such as meat pies and Bovril. Food and beverage sales in stadiums can raise high incomes for clubs, and some clubs make attempts to improve their service and diversify out of traditional foods.[3] In Brazil, sanduíche de calabresa (pepperoni sandwich) is a popular meal in the surrounding areas of stadiums after matches. In Mineirão stadium, feijão tropeiro, a typical dish from Minas Gerais, is very common. In Germany, many football fans eat bratwurst and drink beers. In Argentina, choripán (a sandwich with grilled chorizo with crusty bread) and grilled hamburgers are commonly served in stadiums.

[edit] AlcoholIn some countries football has been associated with alcohol consumption.[4] This can be before, during and after the game, with drinking occurring inside the stadium, sometimes illicitly, as well as in pubs and bars outside. However, unwanted behaviour caused by drinking has led to the banning of the sale of alcohol to general supporters in stadiums across the United Kingdom, although most English and Welsh sides continue to sell alcohol within general stadium areas, with only clubs in Scotland being subject to a blanket ban. Sales of alcohol still occur in executive lounges. Some teams and countries have Supporters Clubs which have friendly drinking reputations. However some countries are more associated with drunken hooliganism as mentioned in the violence section below.

Hooliganism and violenceMain article: Football hooliganism
The level of passion with which football teams are supported has from time to time caused problems, and clashes between fans can result in violence. Some violence occurs by people aiming to cause trouble, a phenomenon known as hooliganism. Other fans group together in hooligan firms, which are organized gangs that seek fights with other firms supporting rival clubs. Both are sometimes known as the "English Disease," after the disorder caused by English fans travelling abroad to support either their club or national team in the 1970s and 1980s. However organised violence surrounding football has been prevalent throughout other countries, most notably by ultras in Italy, torcidas organizadas in Brazil and barra brava in Argentina and other Latin American countries.

Violence by fans has ranged from small fights between fans to tragedies such as the Heysel Stadium disaster and also the Football War. There have been incidents of fans being murdered, such as the killings of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, two Leeds United supporters, in Istanbul in 2000 on the eve of the UEFA Cup Semi-Final first leg.In recent years this aspect of the game seems to have passed its peak in England though it has by no means disappeared completely. Specialist police units and information-sharing between regional and international police forces has made it much harder for the hooligans to organize and participate in disorder. CCTV inside and outside stadiums and also at other anticipated "flash points" such as city centres and railway stations now makes it more likely that people involved in disorder can be identified later even if they are not arrested at the scene. However there are still disruptions surrounding football matches. One example being the UEFA Champions League matches which were played on 12 March and 13 March 2005.

Violence by fans has also affected players, but this is rare. For example, a message to Christian Vieri, apparently by a Inter Milan fan, threatened to burn down his restaurant, criticising his attitude towards the team. There is also the notorious incident where the Colombian international player Andrés Escobar was murdered shortly after returning home from the 1994 World Cup. This was reputedly for scoring the own goal which eliminated Colombia from the competition.

Match programmesMatch programmes are sold inside and outside stadiums before, and sometimes during, matches. In their most simple form, they provide basic information on the teams, players, and match officials. Larger clubs usually produce multiple-page programmes with features such as comments from the manager and club captain, interviews with players, ex-players and backroom staff, information about ticketing arrangements for forthcoming matches, a detailed fixture list and review of the team's season so far, competitions, pages for junior fans, and a detailed feature on the opposition. Programmes from some matches are collectible items, and can fetch money at an auction.

Pitch invasionsMain article: Pitch invasion

Supporters of West Bromwich Albion invade the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate the "Great Escape" of avoiding relegation on the last day of the 2004-05 seasonPitch invasions happen when supporters move from the stands onto the football pitch, some times to deliberately disrupt a match. This is distinguished from times when, due to safety reasons, fans are let onto the pitch.

Examples of pitch invasions include the 1923 "White Horse" FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham United at Wembley.[11] Due to the overwhelming numbers in the stadium the police had to bring order back to the stadium. Another example is the 1977 British Home Championship match between England and Scotland, again at Wembley. After Scotland won 2-1, the "Tartan Army" invaded the pitch and managed to break down the goalposts, as well as cutting up the turf to take.

Solo invasions are more common although few in number. In some cases these are streakers who try to invade the pitch while nude. Supporters tend to view this as harmless fun. One such pitch invasion was at Euro 2004, in the final game between Portugal and Greece, when Jimmy Jump ran onto the pitch to disrupt the game. Another well known invasion was carried out by Karl Power, who sneaked into Manchester Uniteds team photograph before their Champions League game with Bayern Munich; his other stunts have involved the England national rugby union team and the British Grand Prix.


RivalriesMain articles: Local derby and Major football rivalries
Derby matches, which are between two neighbouring rival clubs, are often fiercely competitive. Sometimes there are underlying political or sectarian tensions, such as the Old Firm between Celtic Football Club and Rangers Football Club in Glasgow. The term often applies to matches between two teams from the same city or region, but it is sometimes used to refer to matches between big clubs from the same country. Derbies are usually treated as the most important matches by the fans, players and clubs, regardless of position in the league table, et cetera. The film Green Street embodies the spirit of derbies when one of the characters refers to the West Ham United versus Millwall Football Club rivalry as that of Israel against Palestine. Of course this film does focus on the mostly past era of hooliganism, however its depiction of matchday passion shows just how important derby day is to fans. When it comes to derbies, the culture of football thrives and shines in all its colours. How Soccer Explains the World is a perfect source into how derbies emerged and what they mean to the community.

SeatingAfter the Hillsborough Disaster, the British government commissioned the Taylor Report which resulted in standing being banned from many stadiums, include every top league stadium. Groups such as Stand Up Sit Down are campaigning for its return. This is very different to the situation in British non-league football and other leagues around the world where it is common to see terracing (standing areas) making up some, or even all of the room for fans.

[edit] Sticker albumsUsually collected by children, a sticker album is a book where a collector sticks in pictures of players from different teams in a certain league. The most widespread are those that have been produced by Panini worldwide.