In the modern game the top tier of football in many European countries is a rich man’s game, surrounded in big money signings well into the millions, eye watering advertising /sponsorship deals, stadiums that attract close to and beyond the 100,000 spectator mark in footballs major events (Barcelona’s Camp Nou being the largest in Europe at 99,345, though there is an extension planed that will take the number to 105,000) , creating an unreal, electric atmosphere and television coverage being broadcast around the world.
As you move down the football hierarchy, well into non-league football, many clubs are alien to the features listed above (especially in England), and at best clubs can get a mention in their local newspaper. Yes the quality of football drops and the chance to see the world’s greatest superstars is an extreme rarity in non-league football (though this can happen from time to time with clubs progressing through qualification rounds in competitions such as the FA cup), but there is something about this level of football that has its own special accolades that the top divisions just can’t replicate.
Like most footballing fans I grew up into the team that I support today through family, with the majority of the time it being a successful football club in the same city or town, (a league side). The team I support is Birmingham City, who have bounced between the top two tiers of football since 1995, and during that period have enjoyed their success winning the Carling/League Cup in 2011, enabling the club to play in the UEFA Europa League the following season. These moments and the clubs position in the league hierarchy has seen Birmingham City (like many other league clubs) attract players that have represented their countries at the World Cup, and at some points in the last 10 years averaging up to 30,000 spectators a match, along with around-the-clock media coverage through radio, online, newspapers and occasionally a televised match.
Just over three years ago I watched my first ever non-league football match, something that had never caught my interest to that point as I already had a club that I supported, sitting firmly in the Premier League, and mainly down to myself stereotyping that level of football to be mediocre and boring; but how wrong I was. I can still vividly remember my first shocking encounter with non-league football back in October 2011 at Bromsgrove Sporting FC.
Bromsgrove Sporting FC enjoyed promotion in their first ever season in 2010/11 after being reformed from the old Bromsgrove Rovers side. There are 24 levels in the English football league system, though the base point for sides depends on certain factors such as geographical location. Bromsgrove Sporting was sitting in the Midlands Combination Division One (the 11th tier of the English League hierarchy), during my first encounter with non-league football.
Bromsgrove Sporting was at home against Shirley Town in October 2011 and I was one of the 244 spectators that had brought a £3 ticket to watch the match, and many of whom were standing. This is a big crowd for this level of football with many sides around them averaging around a 30 spectator attendance and though the number initially seems low and unable to create a thriving atmosphere compared to the thousands at Birmingham City, it’s still there through chanting, songs and the passion local fans bring to the club is no less than what Premier League fans bring to a match, they are just smaller in numbers.
It’s no surprise that the average quality of football drops in non-league football compared to that of league football, but that still doesn’t deteriorate the entertainment value that a football match has. The match against Shirley Town ended 3-2 to Bromsgrove and included the ten-man home side winning late on into the match through a diving header. Drama, excitement and entertainment is something that comes with the sport itself and is present at any level of the game, and though clubs are able to present this in a fancier way through the players they have it’s always there.
Clubs contrast greatly when it comes to facilities in the lower tiers and Bromsgrove’s Victoria Ground outmatched many sides’ leagues above them let alone in the same division, with a seated stand, flood lights and a pitch that was looked after by a grounds man.
The facilities are a factor into the overall experience, as many clubs in the same league offered no seating facilities for fans or cover from weather conditions. The restrictions of no standing sections and stadiums having to be all-seaters in the top levels of English football is something that many have been protesting against for a while. Margaret Thatcher banned standing areas in professional football matches after the tragic Hillsborough disaster in 1989 with UEFA enforcing a ban for standing areas in European matches nine years later.
The majority of non-league clubs have standing facilities. Even though this tends to be because they can’t afford the option to install a seated terrace/stand, this is something that is seen as an attraction to the game. The atmosphere seems to be enhanced when the ability to stand is given back to the fans, and is perhaps a factor into why (as The Telegraph reports) 1,000 Brits travel to Borussia Dortmund every home match, as the club has safe standing facilities and is renowned for its electric atmosphere, dubbed the “Yellow Wall”. In 2013 English Football League clubs voted in favour of a trial to a standing area in matches, though it’s still behind non-league football that has had this option for a very long time.
The additional factors that make non-league football so addictive is the family like atmosphere and that your voice can be heard, compared to getting lost within a sea of thousands. You see the same faces week in week out, and I’m not talking about just the players. You see the same spectators, the staff and even get the opportunity to talk to the chairman/owner of the club in certain situations. It immerses you in a family like atmosphere and you really do feel like it becomes your club after watching a few matches.
People are able to voice their opinions, and an individual fan can easily become the catalyst for a quarter of the ground singing their footballing chants to push their team forward. The crowd has always been looked at as the twelfth man and the power that comes with being able to create a lethal atmosphere for your opposition is unmatchable. It’s rare that the individual is able to achieve this accomplishment amongst thousands but at non-league matches you can really feel that you was an influencing factor behind your side’s performance.
Non-league football adds a whole new dynamic to the English game and allows fans to become enriched in an experience completely different to that of the majority of league sides. It still comes with poor performances and low morale within in the club at times but when you witness the thriving atmosphere, an old approach to spectating and the types of influence you can have on the outcome of a match then hooked into an addiction that will make you want to come back again and again for more.
By @Conor_Rees
Source: DSG
