The passion for football has many faces. In addition to following the games of your favorite club – be it on the sofa at home or in the stadium – there are various other ways to get involved with the sport. Many of these options are interactive. Interested parties can get an overview of various football-related hobbies here.
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Play soccer yourself
A first and extremely common option is to play soccer yourself. Clubs offer opportunities for this, alternatively those who are interested can get together in a group that plays football at a leisure field in the area. Hobby footballers need the necessary equipment to play, which is available in any well-stocked sports shop. In addition, there may be membership fees for a club.
Benefits of playing soccer actively
Playing football actively has several advantages. On the one hand health: Sport keeps you fit and is good for endurance and the cardiovascular system. At the same time, active kicking has a positive effect on other skills such as coordination and responsiveness.
There is also a social aspect. By playing football together, there is the opportunity to maintain friendships and also to make new contacts. The latter in particular is made much easier by the shared passion for lawn sports. This may even result in a completely new circle of friends who then also undertake other activities together in their free time.
Association or private group?
The decision between playing football in a club and kicking in a private group needs to be well thought out. Both variants have different advantages and disadvantages.
Membership in a club requires a certain discipline. This is how training appointments should be kept. At the same time, the games often take place on the weekends.
Depending on how extensive family and professional responsibilities play a role in the current phase of life, this can pose a challenge. On the other hand, the fixed times make organizing easier.
With a private group, it can be a lot harder to find regular appointments that everyone has time for. The advantage of such a group is again a lower level of responsibility towards the rest of the players.
Social-Media-Profile
Another exciting hobby related to football can be social media. On the one hand, there is exciting news about the players and teams. In addition, fans can interactively participate in the events with their own account.
Follow the Stars
One way is to follow football stars and clubs on social media. There is often exciting news here that can affect the career, but also the private life of professionals.
The fans have the opportunity to comment on the posts and exchange ideas with other supporters of the respective athlete or club. With a bit of luck, there might even be a reaction from the profile operator himself.
Many of the professionals’ Instagram profiles are extremely popular on social media. This includes the accounts of:
- Cristiano Ronaldo,
- Lionel Messi
- as well as Neymar.
Some stars even set real records on the portal. This is how Cristiano Ronaldo made the brand in 2022 as the first account on Instagram (apart from the operator’s profile). of 500 million followers to crack. A contribution from Lionel Messi, in turn, set another record in December 2022. The post got the most likesever seen on Instagram.
Share your opinion on social media
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There is also the option of regularly sharing your opinion on certain events in the football world with an account on social media. This can relate to a specific game situation or events such as a professional changing clubs.
In this way, football fans have the opportunity to gradually build up their own small following that share opinions. And who knows, with a bit of luck, one of the posts might go viral.
It is important, despite possible emotions that can be evoked by a game situation, to maintain a certain level of politeness and not to make insulting or disrespectful comments in the posts. The fan can also post their own photos on their profile – be it on the sofa at home while watching a game or a selfie with a star.
found a fan club
In addition, enthusiastic football fans have the opportunity to found a fan club. There are purely virtual options as well as the variant of holding regular offline meetings with the club and, above all, attending games.
Exciting new information about the respective club can be shared in the group. In addition, there is the opportunity to deal with the history of the club. With a bit of luck, it might even be possible to persuade prominent guests who have played a role in the respective club in recent decades to attend one of the fan club meetings.
In social media, in turn, an exchange can take place via a fan page or a group on Facebook. In order to put a fan club on solid ground, it can make sense to found an association if it meets in the real world. Information on how to implement this step can be found online what needs to be considered.
sports betting
Another hobby related to football is sports betting. Here, fans have the opportunity, in the best case scenario, to win a little money by making correct predictions.
What makes sports betting exciting?
On the one hand, betting can significantly increase the thrill of watching a football game. This is especially true when the game is being watched with friends and everyone in the group has placed a bet.
Every action of the game can influence the result in the direction of the prediction. Especially when the fan has bet on an unlikely final result, which then happens, the winnings can be high.
It is important to choose the amount of the stake moderately and to take into account the individual financial circumstances. After all, betting should be fun and not lead to monetary problems afterwards.
Distinction from gambling
In Austria, sports betting is not part of gambling. That’s because the potential win can come not only through luck, but also through a meaningful prediction.
Accordingly, other laws apply here than, for example, in a casino or online gaming library. With the latter, players should already register for the various factors into account.
In addition to a sufficient research of the options, this includes a look at the gambling license. Aspects such as a welcome offer and payment methods also play a role.
At the same time, however, this approach shows similarities with gambling. Of course, fans should also do sufficient research before deciding on a betting provider, which options are serious and fit their individual needs.
passion for collecting
Basically, collecting can be an exciting hobby. The same applies to grass sports. This gives fans the opportunity to collect various paraphernalia related to football. Jerseys are certainly a particularly common variant.
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Maybe the fan gets lucky here and there and gets an autograph from a player on the fan jersey. This can significantly enhance such a piece of clothing – in monetary terms as well as from the collector’s perspective. The reason: Depending on which star gave his autograph, the jersey has a real rarity value.
There are various ways to search for rarities. On the one hand, the fan can participate in auctions of rare jerseys. Networking with other fans who share the same hobby also helps. Individual pieces can be exchanged with them.
Conclusion
Aside from watching their favorite club play, there are a number of other hobbies that football fans can pursue. This includes active kicking and the use of social media. In addition, there are options to set up a fan club and to bet on sports. Finally, football fans can collect various fan articles, especially jerseys.
