London soccer fans sport their favourite jerseys and root for their teams at clubs across the city
CBC
As the European Championship nears elimination rounds, Londoners are putting on their favourite jerseys and heading to cultural centres to cheer on the teams they want to see holding the silver cup.
CBC spoke to die-hard fans of the beautiful game who are part of the diverse European diasporas across the city.
Portuguese Londoners Melissa Cout and Sandra Da Ponte are certain that their team has a good shot at its second Euro Cup.
"I mean, when they won the 2016 championships, I was at my niece's birthday party and it got real wild there and really intense," said Cout, in an interview at the Portuguese Club of London on Falcon Road .
23 teams started playing in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) month-long EURO 2024 tournament, which is scheduled to end with a winner on July 14.
Cout and Da Ponte support legendary soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, and plan to be back at the club to watch the game on the big screen with other Portugal fans when their team plays next.
"When [Ronaldo] started [playing], he started with Sporting, which is my favourite Portuguese team," said Da Ponte. "So all these years, as long as he's been playing – that's who I'm rooting for."
Besnik Rexhvelaj is not only cheering for Albania because it's his motherland, but also because he personally knows the parents of 22-year old Albanian soccer star Armando Broja.
"We grew up with them and when you see the new generation doing so well — we were so happy," said Rexhvelaj. "He [had] the option to choose maybe playing for England. He said 'No, I'm going to play for Albania because I'm opening.'"
Although Rexhvelaj doesn't think Albania will win the Euro Cup, he's overjoyed to see his country represented in prestigious championship games.
"We support Albanians because it's the second time they joined the Euro, so we are so proud of them and we support them 100 per cent," said Rexhvelaj. "It's a special event for Albanians all over the place."
Kevin Blyth is an England-born Londoner who roots for his home country, but is unimpressed so far by their performance.
"They're barely scraping by," said Blyth. "They've probably got the most talented team in the world, but once it comes to these tournaments they just don't perform up to their expectations of the fans."
But what sets England apart from the other teams is the expectation for them to win because of talented players like Harry Kane, Blyth said.
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WARNING: This story contains disturbing details about gruesome deaths and sexual abuse.