The fans that are taking over the Fifa Champions Cup

SC Corinthians and AS FAR fans sparked life into a competition that is trying to make a name for itself

Corinthians goalscorer Gabi Zanotti celebrates with the fans. Credit: Getty Images

As someone who grew up immersed in west London football, a Fifa competition coming into town feels like a very big deal.

The Fifa Champions Cup, the new intercontinental club competition, hosted its semi-finals at Brentford’s Community Stadium on Wednesday, and with it came all the unique sights and sounds of international football.

This competition is only in its first year, and because of that the awareness and interest from the wider football community has been on the quiet side.

In general, global club competitions aren’t viewed with the same prestige in England as they are in South America and Africa. For Brazilian side Corinthians and Morocco’s AS FAR, taking part in this event is about global bragging rights and national pride. In Europe, this event is seen as another thing to add to what already feels like a bloated calendar.

The $2.3-million prize for the winners of the Fifa Champions Cup has added an extra layer to the opportunity for clubs from less professionalised leagues and regions. The runner-up will receive the $1 million and each semi-finalist receives $200,000 for participating.

The final prize represents the highest payout for a single game in women’s club football, if you don’t count World Sevens’ $5 million prize pot of which $2 million goes to the winner. The winner of the Uefa Champions League currently receives €500,000 ($596,000) with additional earnings claimed throughout every match round and stage of the competition.

The quality of football at the Fifa Champions Cup is secondary, the less said about that the better. But the energy from some of the sides competing was a reminder that this is a global game, that isn’t just built on the progress of teams in USA and Europe.

Nothing illustrates the deep-seated passion for football than Corinthians’ London fan group, Fiel Londres, queueing up at 10.30am to get into the One Over the Ait pub in Kew.

Corinthians fans had travelled from Dublin and Malta to attend Wednesday’s semi final against NWSL side Gotham and they were awarded with a shock 1-0 victory.

With the Copa Libertadores Femenina champions’ inclusion, comes all the noise and culture of Brazilian football. Packed in amongst the local primary school seat fillers, were a small pocket of Corinthians ultras, not in the typical European sense, but in the loud and proud football sense.

Bouncing away, with a few tiny high-vis vests bouncing with them, these fans did not stop throughout the 90 minutes of their clash with Gotham.

The Corinthians London fan club were packed into the local pub

Credit: Baller FC

London-based Corinthians fan Vivia told me that the noise and atmosphere was “0.1% of what you can expect at a game in Brazil”. She said that they sadly didn’t have their huge tifo flags to add to the occasion.

As the women’s football world prepares for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which is sure to be the most impassioned edition of the tournament that we’ve ever seen, the Fifa Champions Cup has given England a taste of something a little bit different.

The energy from the Corinthians fans continued to rub off on the school kids dispersed across the Brentford stadium. At one point a whole school group decided to take off their high-vis jackets and swing them around their heads like football scarves.

It wasn’t just the afternoon fixture that brought out local interest.

Baller FC, the women’s football community and event organisation, hosted a fan walk, with a samba band accompaniment, before the later game between Arsenal and Moroccan side AS FAR, and it brought out the Brazilians still hanging out in the pub from their lunchtime victory, and local Moroccans hear to support their nation’s representative.

Moroccan fan Ben, also known as ‘Sombrero Man’ to QPR fans and anyone who has been to Loftus Road, was in the crowd for the evening game to support AS FAR. Such is his passion for Moroccan football that he had just returned from six weeks watching the Africa Cup of Nations. “I’m a huge fan and I have to be here”, said Ben, showing me every picture of his AFCON trip in his camera roll.

QPR and Morocco fan Ben.

This tournament probably won’t be remembered for footballing reasons. Arsenal blew away AS FAR 6-0 on Wednesday night, but it has already created a unique memory in the minds of women’s football fans.

Perhaps this Fifa Champions Cup is actually the glossy reincarnation of the Arnold Clark Cup. Whatever it is or morphs into, more international fans at women’s football games, please.