What is it like to follow European football in Australia?

However, the trend of supporting nonlocal sports teams is on the rise. It is common for clubs to have fans from outside their region, often in other countries.

Even being thousands of miles apart is not an obstacle. Modern broadcasting and social media allow fans to interact and merge with their club’s identities.

On this week's episode of Football Now, we spoke to Australian fans to understand what motivates them to support their teams from a distance. Australia is around 14,000km away from Europe. And yet, the fans in this part of the world are just as devoted as those living locally to stadiums in Madrid, Manchester or Munich.

Matt Coleman has extensive experience covering European football for Fox Sports Australia and has seen first-hand just how devoted these fans can be.

"It's not just the match-going fans that are of vital importance to clubs. Now that they have these big global footprints and whether in the Americas, Australia, or Asia, clubs appeal to people all around the world." explained Matt. "The big brands have clubs that people can support, whether they have ties to their homeland or not, which is of vital importance for these teams all across Europe."

The 2023/24 Premier League season resumed in August, and for league fans in Australia, this means staying up for a typical late-night kick-off time. In the heart of Sydney, Cheers Bar is the home of Australia's biggest Liverpool Supporters Club. On the night of their team's first home game of the season against Bournemouth, Joey Harb told Football Now what it's like being a fan from a distance.

The Premier League and other European leagues have been popular down under for decades. As a result of the Women's World Cup being hosted there for the first time, general