‘Great togetherness’ – vibrant fans amplify the joy at Euro 2022

Welcome to Moving the Goalposts, the Guardian’s new (and free) women’s football newsletter. Here’s an extract from this week’s edition. To receive the full version once a week, just pop your email in below:

A fascinating group stage of Euro 2022 has come to a close after almost two weeks packed full of football, elation and heartbreak, and everything that goes with it. We have been treated to the women’s game at its best, both with the quality of play and the excellence and vibrance of the fans off it.

People have turned out in historic numbers, not just for the sold-out England matches but elsewhere. The attendance record for a non-host nation match (not including a final) has been broken three times. Fifteen games in, Uefa had surpassed the 240,045 tickets sold in 2017.

I have spent much of the past fortnight among the fans. I have danced with the Dutch and Swedish as a sea of orange and yellow swept through the streets of Sheffield and Leigh; joined in the Icelandic clap in Rotherham; sung non-stop renditions of Sweet Caroline with the English; and visited the impressive German fan bus in Brentford. All bring energy and excitement, engaging the regular follower and those new to the sport. The demographic has been mixed, from the young girl and boy in their England gear to the 60-year-old man shouting tactics at the players from his seat.

This is the crux of it. It has felt like Euro 2022 has been a tournament for everyone, with people travelling from as far as Australia. Some have come as part of official supporters’ groups, others as individuals figuring it out as they go along.

Amalie Bremer, co-founder of the fan club for the Denmark women’s team, made the journey with a large group and they decked out a Brentford