Tourists - why do we dislike them so much?
- by Allen Cummings
- Filed: Monday, 13th January 2025
This is a tricky one I know – so I’ve got my grandad’s old Home Guard tin hat at the ready. Could we have a civilised debate about ‘tourists’? Not visitors to our country but visitors to our home ground – the London Stadium.
Tourist in the football sense is a word which appears to evoke emotional angst merging to seething anger amongst some of our fans more than almost any other word – save ‘Sullivan’ of course!The recent comprehensive home defeats first to Arsenal then to Liverpool served to highlight an issue which has never been far from the surface since our move from the tight confines of Upton Park to the more spacious arena we now occupy in Stratford.
The board’s line in selling us that move was a stadium almost double in size would provide us with the platform for bigger and better things in the future. The opportunity to increase the fan base thus generating more revenue to invest in the team and ultimately take our club forward.
Dare I say it, "to the next level" – although I’m not entirely sure if that utopia has ever been truly defined!
Of course the next level is an attractive proposition to football fans – particularly if it means regularly rubbing shoulders with the so-called elite clubs – at home and abroad. But it doesn’t automatically come about by providing a bigger stage. Size isn’t everything after all!
The football played and the results achieved on that stage are the biggest factor. Like it or not David Moyes got the results which not only elevated our position in the Premier League – 6th and 7th place finishes have hardly been common place for us.
We also increase our profile in Europe with three consecutive seasons travelling the continent – plus picking up a European trophy on the way. West Ham once again had credibility at home and abroad.
Outsiders were noticing us again. They knew who we were. The word 'London' had been added to the club badge in 2016 for a reason. London is our capital city, it attracts millions of visitors every year. What do football fans world wide like to do when they’re travelling?
Go to see a game of football! Visit an arena they know or have heard of from afar, but now have the opportunity to experience for themselves. Who hasn’t done the same when they’ve been travelling?
I certainly have – visits to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan and Rome have to include trips to the Camp Nou, Bernabeu, San Siro and Stadio Olimpico. Rather than resenting them, shouldn’t we be proud that our club is on their bucket list? It’s not as if we haven’t got the room to accommodate them after all!
The argument appears to be ‘tourists’ detract from the atmosphere of the stadium. Their neutral status prevents them getting behind the team in the way that regular supporters should. But does that stop us, as regular supporters, from doing just that? Making our own voices heard?
Sadly, it’s the performance of the team which has the biggest affect on the atmosphere. When there’s not much to cheer about, and let’s face it there hasn’t been, then who can expect there to be much cheering and singing?
Anyone who has visited places like Anfield will have seen plenty of ‘tourists’ just there for the day. The faces, the pristine new bobble hats, the bright half-and-half scarves - all clues to the wearers not being regulars.
Yet the signing is always deafening and the atmosphere always inspiring. There are said to be approximately 30,000 season ticket holders, around half the capacity of Anfield now – so the scope for tourists is obvious. But it’s never an issue!
We are said to have around 50,000 season ticket holders at the moment. Given an opposition allocation of around 3,000, that means 4,000-5,000 tickets would be available for general sale.
Of course we operate a ‘ticket exchange’ policy which permits season ticket holders to list their tickets for resale if they cannot attend a given game. So is that the reason we have seen an upsurge in tourists, or even worse opposition supporters in home areas of the stadium?
I don’t blame season ticket holders for trying to recoup some of the outlay they have made by relisting their ticket. Why wouldn’t they? Or would the preference be that those seats should be left un-occupied and the regular occupants left out of pocket?
We’re more than happy to see our shirts and flags being displayed around the world – and not just by visiting Hammers on holiday, but by locals who support our club from afar. So why wouldn’t those overseas fans want to visit a live game if and when they can?
It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for some. Should we deny them that pleasure? It’s our club because we have supported them for many years at home – but it’s their chosen club, too.
Son Heung-min is a valuable commodity for Spurs. Not just his goals but his crowd appeal. How many Korean faces do you see at White Hart Lane? They don’t all live on the Seven Sisters Road. They’ve come to see their national hero and paid for the privilege.
It’s the same with Kaoru Mitoma at Brighton. His presence in the team is a valuable asset to his manager – so too for the Brighton Merchandising Manager.
Likewise at the London Stadium we see Brazilian flags and shirts in support of Lucas Paqueta and similar Mexican colours for Edson Alvarez. Should we be saying we’re happy to have your countrymen in our team, but we don’t want you on our terraces?
I’ve sat in away ends up and down the country when there has been no option. Many of us have I’m sure. But I’ve always been wise enough to keep my outwardly emotions in check when inwardly I’ve been bursting with excitement as a result of a goal or an ultimate victory.
Sadly when we are at home, on our own patch and being soundly beaten – and some around you are clearly not as depressed as you – it produces a highly inflammatory situation. When the boot is on the other foot and we’re winning and the ones doing the shouting the problem doesn’t arise. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case too often recently.
Rugby appears to operate very well with rival fans sitting in close proximity to each other. No moans about unwelcome visitors there, tourists or otherwise. But the tribal element in football prevents that from happening – and always will I suspect.
Tourists will continue to be attracted to the London Stadium whether we like it or not. Groups lining up on the bridge, with the stadium in the background, having their photos taken, won’t be changing any time soon – if ever. The hope is the football we see on the pitch under a new manager will change and will bring about a more invigorated atmosphere in the ground.
On Tuesday it will be Graham Potter’s first home game in charge. A new regime and a new start we hope. If we as supporters can’t use that to get behind the new man and his team and create an atmosphere we can be proud of, and the team can feed off, then we should be ashamed of ourselves.
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