The Game That Still Belongs to the People
I have never been a football fan. The tactical tension, the sudden heartbreak of a missed penalty, and the tribal joy of a winning goal have never moved me. Yet, it is impossible to ignore the sheer gravity of the game. Football shapes our towns, fills our pubs, dictates the rhythm of our weekends, and occupies an undeniable space in working-class culture. You do not have to love the sport to see the massive scale of the space it occupies. I find myself constantly circling back to it, not for the 90 minutes on the pitch, but for what it reveals about community, belonging, and the collective things people absolutely refuse to let go of.
On any given Saturday afternoon, you can watch entire communities come alive. People who have had public services stripped away and local hubs closed still find a reason to show up and stand together, claiming a piece of shared identity that has not yet been priced out or shut down.
This solidarity goes far beyond elite stadiums. It lives on school fields, in local parks, and on those hard, fenced-in five-a-side pitches with metal railings where people play under floodlights until dark. Millions participate every week, not for money or fame, but because it remains one of the simplest ways to feel part of something larger than oneself.
A History of Connection
This deep sense of connection is nothing new. During the First World War, the bonds built on the pitch ran so deep that entire squads enlisted side by side. Heart of Midlothian’s first team famously joined the 16th Royal Scots, Clapton Orient sent more than forty players and staff to the front, and the Footballers’ Battalion brought together professionals, amateurs, and fans alike. They did not go for simple slogans; they went because the community built through the sport forged ties that held firm in the worst conditions imaginable.
On a local level today, football still provides essential mental and physical breathing space, giving teenagers a place to channel energy and giving adults a vital reason to get out of the house and clear their heads.
The Modern Corporate Shift
However, the top tier of the modern game feels like a completely different universe. Elite football has mutated into a commercialised playground for billionaire owners, private equity firms, and television deals worth more than entire local council budgets. The business side has sprinted so far ahead of ordinary life that it barely resembles the game played in parks.
Clubs are increasingly treated as assets on a corporate balance sheet or global branding vehicles designed to squeeze every possible penny. Decisions are made in distant boardrooms by executives who will never queue at a turnstile or freeze on an open terrace, ensuring the modern game serves corporate wealth long before it serves the fans who built it.
Supporters Treated as Customers
This shift has fundamentally altered what it means to be a supporter. Instead of being valued as the heartbeat of a community, fans are treated purely as monetised customers. Everything carries a steep price tag, from replica shirts and streaming packages to matchday tickets.
This commercial friction became incredibly visible recently during widespread fan protests across the Premier League, where supporters group rallied against skyrocketing ticket prices and the erosion of traditional pensioner and youth concessions.
When loyalty and history are reduced to revenue streams, it becomes clear that ordinary people are doing the heavy lifting while the financial benefits flow strictly upwards. Yet, despite this corporate drift, people still show up and play because the underlying sense of belonging is one of the few things society has not managed to strip away.
