A new ITV 1 factual documentary
series looking deeply into the incredible world of the football fan
launches next week. Sure Fans United, is a fascinating
insight into what the World’s biggest game means to people from
around the globe.
Episode one, airing on Wednesday
22nd March is “Super Fans” and looks at people whose
lives revolve around their surprising choice of teams and the
lengths they go to prove their devotion.
Brian
Kennedy from Waterford in Ireland has risked his marriage, maxed
seven credit cards and re mortgaged his house four times for the
love of his team. It’s not uncommon for football supporters from The
Emerald Isle to adopt a British team. Hordes of fans cross the Irish
Sea every weekend to see their heroes in action and Brian is no
different. But Brian does not travel to Glasgow, Manchester,
Liverpool or London, he travels to sleepy Devon to watch Exeter City
play in The Conference. He fell in love with The Grecians after
seeing them lose 6 – 1 at Hull City some years ago. Brian obviously
likes to back the underdog, he has even built an Exeter shrine in
his garage. “Fans United” sees Brian travel over to Devon for a
crucial game against the mighty Accrington Stanley.
Another “Super Fan” is Jordan
Donnelly, an 18 year old from Liverpool – one of the most famous
football cities in the world. Jordan’s dad hoped he would follow in
his footsteps and support Everton. But after a family holiday to
Spain, Jordan fell in love with the Catalan giants of Barcelona and
declared them his team aged 11. Now he scrimps and saves every penny
he can to plan his next trip to watch his beloved team play – “Fans
United” follows him on one of his trips with interesting results –
was it a good idea to choose a mid week game on a school night?
In episode one we also follow
Burton Albion’s amazing FA Cup games against the great Manchester
United through the eyes of the unlikeliest of friends, one a bin man
from Burton and the other a high powered headhunter from Warsaw who
flies in for every game at a cost of £20,000 a year. The only thing
they have in common is their obsession with The Brewers.
Football
today is a global business with big money deals, huge corporate
sponsors and superstar players but without the fans it simply
wouldn’t exist. It’s these passionate, devoted, colourful, fanatical
and adoring people of different races, countries and backgrounds
that make the game the phenomenon it is.
Forthcoming episodes of the series explore the passion that fans
have on derby days across The World, the lengths that supporters
will go to on match day to create the best atmosphere possible, what
being a passionate fan means in different corners of the globe, the
life of the celebrity fan and the impact fanatical support has on
family life.
Fans United is a colourful,
exciting and fascinating look at the most important characters of
The World’s biggest sport and runs for 8 weeks on ITV 1 at Midnight
on Wednesdays and is repeated on ITV 2 at 9pm starting from April 18th.
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