THE LIFE OF A FAN
You might be born into it, or adopted later in life, but once your football fan career begins, it is something that stays with you forever.
Family loyalties to a club can go back decades and many fans form lifelong friendships and communities centred around their team.
However, women fans can often face challenges that male fans don’t need to consider.
Some women do not feel able to attend live matches, due to concerns around their safety. Many women are compelled to take fan breaks from attending matches as the result of motherhood and the need for more inclusive stadiums.
The stories, artworks and historic objects below chronicle the life of a fan and explore how women’s fan careers have been affected by wider social changes.
Background Image: Newcastle fans on the terraces in May 1973.
Dad was going to the match one day.
When I got home he said, "Why don’t you come to the match with me?"
Ava. Fan since the 1950s.
I went to me first match when I was about nine, me and a lad called Tommy.
We got on the bus.
We were the first ones sitting outside Roker Park.
Linda. Fan since the 1960s.
It’s a big part of my life, because it’s been a big part of my life for years and years and years.
It’s part of you. Part of your DNA... I’ve lost boyfriends over it, as a teenager.
Lynne. Fan since the 1960s.
Click the scarves below to find out more about the experiences of women fans of Newcastle and Sunderland.
Tap the scarves below to find out more about the experiences of women fans of Newcastle and Sunderland.
North East Derby
Take a Stitch 2 Durham Embroidery Group
This piece commemorates an era when kit was made at home rather than bought. It celebrates the North East women who not only made the rosettes and scarves worn by their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers at the stadium, but who were also football fans in their own right.
Of the stitched portrait in the Newcastle scarf, its female maker writes:
This depicts my childhood memories of my lovely dad sharing with us his own treasured memories of Newcastle United’s glory days in the 1950s. In particular, him reminiscing about Jackie Milburn, ‘’Wor Jackie’’, getting ‘’three’’ past the Portsmouth goalie to keep the toon in the FA Cup, which they later went on to win.
Despite a passion for football being handed down to both sons and daughters, the different life trajectories of men and women can mean that women football fans are faced with fear and rejection when supporting their team at live games.
The words and phrases embroidered in these scarves reflect these fan experiences.
Football is still often seen as a male-dominated environment, with women’s greater responsibilities in the household easily, though mistakenly, interpreted as proof of their secondary status as fans.
Take a Stitch 2 Durham are an independent group of creative textile artists and stitchers brought together by a love of stitched textiles, whether that be in traditional embroidery or contemporary works with mixed media.
It isn’t just Newcastle and Sunderland with a long history of passionate women fans in the North East of England.
Amateur football clubs in County Durham have long been a welcoming part of the community in many towns and villages, allowing men and women to come together in support of their team.
Bishop Auckland FC and Crook Town AFC were leading amateur clubs from the late 1800s through to the 1960s, winning the FA Amateur Cup 15 times between them in this period.
The objects and images displayed here are courtesy of Durham Amateur Football Trust who work to preserve the collections and stories of fans across the region.
Wooden rattles like this were popular with football fans in the 1950s and 60s. This one has been personalised to show support for Crook Town.
Wooden rattles like this were popular with football fans in the 1950s and 60s. This one has been personalised to show support for Crook Town.
Crook Town supporters preparing for the FA Amateur Cup Final, 1964. Their team went on to beat Enfield 2-1.
Crook Town supporters preparing for the FA Amateur Cup Final, 1964. Their team went on to beat Enfield 2-1.
This homemade banner was taken to Wembley Stadium by Bishop Auckland fans for the 1957 FA Amateur Cup Final.
This homemade banner was taken to Wembley Stadium by Bishop Auckland fans for the 1957 FA Amateur Cup Final.
This homemade silk scarf is designed with the colours and crest of Bishop Auckland and was worn by a woman fan throughout the 1960s and 70s.
This homemade silk scarf is designed with the colours and crest of Bishop Auckland and was worn by a woman fan throughout the 1960s and 70s.
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