Backlash against Ipswich Town shows why football can’t be apolitical

Politics has wormed its way back into football, and Reform UK are thrilled – or furious, depending on who you ask.

In a busy week for the far-right political party, leader Nigel Farage has stoked controversy with his visit to Ipswich Town FC. Despite previous claims that we should “keep politics out of football”, Farage seems very keen to plaster shots of himself in an Ipswich shirt all over social media.

At the same time, Reform MP Suella Braverman is embroiled in a dispute with the Football Association (FA) over their plans to create more coaching opportunities for people from Black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic backgrounds – plans the former-Conservative described as “woke nonsense”.

So, which is it, Reform? Is the beautiful game a political football, or is it, well, just football?

The club at the centre of the storm is desperate to prove that it is apolitical. Ipswich Town FC has stated that it “does not support or endorse any individual or party” and has “hosted representatives from a range of political parties” over the years.

Still, in a bid to stem the wave of criticism from fans, the club reiterated that it “is proud to be an inclusive, diverse and welcoming organisation that supports all members of the local and wider community. This commitment remains unchanged”. Does that count as “woke nonsense”, as well? Reform UK have yet to clarify.

Politicians have always dressed up as football fans. What’s different now?

If you’re looking at Farage smugly holding up his new shirt and thinking, ‘don’t they all do this?’, you’re not wrong. Politicians love to prove that they’re just like us – and, in the UK at least, that means loudly voicing support for a football team any chance they get. Current and former Labour Party leaders Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn are both die-hard Arsenal fans; Corbyn once went so far as to back a parliamentary motion to have the Gunners officially declared the “best football team in the world”.

Of course, there have also been a fair few politicians whose football-fan credentials are…more questionable. Former Prime Minister David Cameron notoriously forgot which team he supported, urging people to back West Ham, despite having previously sold himself as an Aston Villa fan. When asked about the blunder, the then-Tory MP said it was “just one of those things”.

Likewise, Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wound up the crowd at a Manchester hustings event by saying that he hoped Southampton, his local club growing up, would beat Manchester United that weekend – even though the Saints were actually scheduled to play Leicester City. Not to be out-done by the big two parties, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey made sure to get a – painfully staged – photo of him celebrating the Lionesses’ win in the 2023 World Cup.

So far, so cringe. But, business as usual, right? Why the outcry over Farage?

Well, because the fans aren’t asking Ipswich Town to be apolitical; they’re asking the club they love not to endorse a particular flavour of politics. One Ipswich fan summarised it as a “horrendous look for our so called [sic] family club to allow the leader of a party that champions division, hatred and bigotry to parage around our gaff like he’s lord of the manor”. Similarly, the Ipswich’s LGBTQ+ fan group, Rainbow Tractors, said they feel “let down” by the club.

Fans are making it clear; their response isn’t apolitical, but deeply political.

Football fandom has always been political

To follow a team – really follow it, not like Rishi Sunak – you need to be dedicated, and fiercely loyal; you sit through disappointing matches and heart-breaking losses. That means you know how to get behind a cause.

An incredible example of how this energy and passion can turn political is Liverpool fans’ tireless campaigning for the introduction of the Hillsborough Law, and long-running boycott of the Sun newspaper, in the wake of the appalling response to the Hillsborough disaster.

Likewise, fans quickly rallied behind Manchester United football star Marcus Rashford in his efforts to pressure the government to take action on food poverty.

Football has never existed in a bubble. It infects, and is infected by, every aspect of culture. That back-and-forth is how England anthem “Three Lions” became one of the best-selling UK singles of all time, and why we now hear Eurodance hit “Freed from Desire” chanted at so many football games. Football is in everything, and everything is in football.

That means sometimes politics is in football, whether the clubs – and the politicians – like it, or not.

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