Europe is gripped by football fever every year between September and May: bars show matches, huge arenas host games, children play football in the streets, overweight adults play football on pitches in pub teams. What sets Europe apart in footballing terms from the rest of the world is the sheer quality of the domestic leagues, which are head and shoulders above those from elsewhere around the world.
AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and arguably the world, is the UEFA Champions League. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup.
The elite tournament for men's national teams is the European Championships, often shortened to just Euros. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters.
The Premier League, run by The Football Association (FA), is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, and keenly followed throughout much of the former British Empire. Football played in the English Premier League tends to be faster but less technical than the Italian Serie A or Spanish Primera División, and the stadiums, despite being dogged by hooligan troubles in the 70s and 80s, are very family friendly and safe. The main domestic cup competition, the FA Cup, is the oldest football competition in the world, and is open to all clubs that are affiliated with the FA. England also has a second, less prestigious domestic cup competition known as the EFL Cup (or League Cup), which unlike the FA Cup is only open to clubs in the top four divisions. This means that England is one of the few European countries in which it is possible to achieve a domestic treble.
Top clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United play in front of packed out stadiums every week, and the majority of seats are reserved for season ticket holders, so it can often be tricky to find tickets for their Premier League fixtures. Instead, why not try seeing them play in European Champions League matches, for which there are often tickets available to the general public.
Match tickets range from around £20 for the smaller games of the lower quality teams, up to around £60 for the best seats at the best matches of the big teams; some tickets can be bought on match days at the grounds, but it is best to buy them online well in advance from the clubs' websites.
Top clubs include:
The English Premier League is also well known for some of the intense rivalries between clubs. By far the most famous one is the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United, a rivalry that stems partly from the city rivalry that has existed between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool since the industrial revolution. The rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds United is also an intense one stemming from animosity between Lancashire and Yorkshire which has existed since the Wars of the Roses. Of course, there are also many notable local derbies, such as the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham, the Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton, the Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City and the Tyne-Wear Derby between Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Although football had long been regarded as a male sport in England, the popularity of women's football has taken off in the 2020s, after England reached the semi-finals of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2019, and won the UEFA European Women's Championship in 2022. England now has a well-patronised women's professional league, with the top tier being the Women's Super League. Many of the top tier men's teams now field professional women's teams in the competition. Women also routinely referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport.
In the 1970s and 80s, hooliganism was a major problem in English football, but now it is highly unlikely for violent incidents to occur in and around football stadiums. Still, certain precautions must be taken:
Partly due to past problems with hooliganism, certain items allowed in foreign stadiums are banned from being taken into football grounds in England. They include aerosols, air horns, bottles, fireworks, flags with poles, flares, glass vessels, smoke bombs and vuvuzelas.
Other strict regulations also apply to football in England. Spectators are not allowed to drink alcohol in view of the pitch, unless they are in an executive box. Standing up for long periods in all-seater stadiums is also strongly discouraged. Standing sections are not allowed in top tier stadiums (although there is growing demand for, and political support for changing this), and are rare in the second tier ('The Championship') but are common, particularly in older stadiums, below this level.
Don't be alarmed if you see if a visible police presence at certain matches, they are typically deployed with the co-operation of the clubs playing, to ensure that the match remains a safe experience for all the fans. A number of clubs also have visible stewards or marshals inside the stadium.
Top sides compete in France's Ligue 1, the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the France Football Federation (website in French only). The cup competition is the Coupe de France, open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the Coupe de la Ligue, open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the history of French colonialism, the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African descent.
Top clubs include:
Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is Le Classique between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille.
The highest level league in Germany is called Bundesliga. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa).
The fiercest rivalry in German football is the Revierderby between Gelsenkirchen-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund, and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds.
The women's Bundesliga is also one of the world's best leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg.
The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including:
Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams.
In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th league.
Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is the Superleague Greece (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are:
By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the Derby of the eternal enemies (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility.
The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in Italy's Serie A are:
Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the Derby della Madonnina between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the Derby della Capitale between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the Derby d'Italia, which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football.
The top league in the Netherlands is the Eredivisie. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then):
However, teams outside the "big three" have contended for titles—AZ (Alkmaar) won the championship in 2008–09, and Twente (Enschede) won the title in 2009–10 and finished just behind Ajax in 2010–11. Additionally, the 2018-2019 season is the first in which a Drents team will play, with FC Emmen having promoted from the first division in the season prior.
The KNVB Beker, as per the 2018 edition of the cup the Toto KNVB Beker is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the Topklasse, and clubs that have won the district cups. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie and KNVB Beker. In the past ten years, nine clubs have won the Beker, as opposed to five in the Eredivisie:
The top Portuguese league, the Primeira Liga, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date.
The most famous rivalry in Portugal is O Clássico between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the Derby de Lisboa between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years.
Scotland is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) when they defeated Internazionale of Milan in the 1967 final in Lisbon.
42 clubs play in the Scottish Professional Football League, the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club Scottish Premiership; below that are the Scottish Championship, Scottish League One and Scottish League Two, each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the Scottish Cup, open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the Scottish League Cup, open only to the 42 SPFL clubs.
The top football clubs in Scotland include:
Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in Northern Ireland — arguably as much as in Glasgow itself.
Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions.
Spain's Primera División, more often known as La Liga, is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of Latin America. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include:
The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is El Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics.
While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish Süper Lig has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, Istanbul.
The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the Intercontinental Derby (Turkish: Kıtalararası Derbi) between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class.
Historically, Wales did not have a national league. The top tier was divided between the Cymru Alliance, for teams in North and Mid Wales, and the Welsh League, for teams in South Wales. Consequently, many of the bigger clubs chose to compete within the English football pyramid. Starting from the 1992/93 season, the League of Wales, now Cymru Premier, was founded to form a national competition. The "exiled" clubs were invited to resign their positions in the English leagues, and enter the League of Wales, along with the top teams from the Cymru Alliance and Welsh League. Some of the clubs chose to remain within the English system. The Cymru Alliance and Welsh League were replaced in 2019 by the current second-level leagues, Cymru North and Cymru South.
Wales' two largest teams both play in the English league system:
Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport County and Wrexham all compete at a lower level within the English game. Wrexham is most notable outside the UK for its purchase in 2021 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The club has since become the subject of Welcome to Wrexham, a documentary TV series on the U.S. FX network.
The biggest clubs in Cymru Premier are
Compared to neighbouring England, Cymru Premier stadiums are small, and attendances are low. In South Wales, the popularity of Rugby Union and the presence of the large exiled clubs, Cardiff and Swansea, conspire to keep attendances down. In North and Mid Wales, the proximity of the glamorous Premiership teams in the English North-West and West Midlands means that many football fans prefer to journey across the border rather than watch their local teams (though Wrexham has become a partial exception under its current ownership), and nearly all the top Welsh players play for English clubs. This often means that attending matches can be a fairly relaxed activity, with a strong community feel at clubs. Tickets are fairly cheap, there is usually a small clubhouse for a drink before and/or after the match, and visitors will generally be made to feel welcome by the locals. Violence between fans is very rare, though bad feelings between fans of Rhyl and Bangor City can sometimes go too far.