With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to be co-hosted across North America, a unique cultural exchange is on the horizon for football fans. While England's men's team has consistently come close to major tournament success in recent years, the women's team has frequently demonstrated a winning pedigree. For long-time English supporters, the pre-tournament discussions about the team's prospects, often centring on key players like Harry Kane, remain a familiar ritual in pubs and workplaces across the UK.
However, for a significant portion of the host nations – Canada and the USA – the relationship with football, or 'soccer' as it's known there, has historically been less fervent. Recent trends in online searches, such as "How do football chants start" and "how do soccer fans know what to chant," suggest a learning curve for new audiences keen to immerse themselves in the sport's traditions. This highlights a fundamental difference in how the game is experienced culturally.
Central to English football culture is its profound connection to drinking. Historically, football grounds were often integrated into local communities, meaning fans would typically walk from nearby pubs to matches, continuing to drink throughout the game and returning to debrief afterwards, regardless of the result. This ritual, often referred to simply as 'Saturday', underscores the social and communal aspect of supporting a team, a tradition that contrasts with the more segmented experiences of some other sports.
Another distinctive element is the partisan view of officiating. For English fans, the referee is almost universally seen as an antagonist when decisions go against their team, regardless of their objective correctness. This non-partisan approach to supporting one's team means that even a fully justified red card can lead to the official being branded a 'w*****', a common, albeit coarse, expression of fan frustration.
The creativity of English fan chants also sets them apart. Unlike simpler calls such as 'DEFENSE', many popular chants are elaborate, often adapting obscure pop songs from decades past. A prime example is the chant for former England manager Gareth Southgate, based on Atomic Kitten's 2000 hit 'Whole Again'. These songs spread organically through stadiums and on the walk to the ground, with catchiness being the key factor in their adoption. The fluid nature of a football match, with its two halves and fewer interruptions compared to sports with multiple quarters or frequent commercial breaks, provides ample opportunity for sustained communal singing.
Looking ahead to 2026, FIFA's introduction of three-minute hydration breaks 22 minutes into each half, regardless of temperature, presents a potential shift. While ostensibly for player welfare, there are concerns these breaks could be leveraged for commercial advertising, particularly in the US market. Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo has notably pledged not to air commercials during these intervals. Finally, a less formal, but very real, aspect of celebrating a goal in England is the spontaneous throwing of often full pints of beer into the air – a messy but undeniably passionate expression of jubilation that has become a rite of passage for many supporters.