Growing up, I have always been a fan of football (or what Americans might call soccer). Having played since I was four, it was only right for me to pick a Premier League team to support. I decided that I was going to pick Tottenham around 2009, when they had just brought in two amazing players, Bale and Modric. I watched every game I possibly could and came to understand how much this team means to people who attend every match day in London. 

Walking out of the White Hart Lane tube station to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is the closest one to the stadium and one of the most popular for people traveling to the stadium on matchday. 

The road outside of the stadium is shut down every game day to allow people to walk to the games. Numerous food trucks come and park outside the stadium for anyone to grab a bite. 

Tons of people arriving two hours before kickoff to enjoy the pregame environment. Many people hang out outside the stadium until about 30 minutes before the game starts to meet up with friends and have a pint. 

Ever since I decided to study abroad in London, I started getting as many tickets as I could to home games and am now only missing three of the remaining games. I’m hugely passionate about this team, so I thought it would be great to show how deeply football fandom runs in London, and specifically North London. 

View from the North Stand overlooking the North London Derby. The North Stand faces the largest single tiered stand in the UK, which seats 17,500 home fans every matchday. 

The stadium has over 50,000 of the 65,000-seat capacity used for season ticket holders, so you have tons of lifelong fans that go as a family. There is currently a waiting list of over 90,000 people trying to get a season ticket. 

One thing that was significant about this game was the fact that it was a Derby, where Tottenham plays against their North London opponent, Arsenal. This is one of the most in-demand games to attend every season and is typically highly contentious, as the fans are bitter rivals. You can tell this from being in the stadium as 65,000 fans cheer on their team and jeer the opponents. I wish I could show in photos how powerful it is to be there and to hear the noise in person, but I hope my photos did a good job of showing the number of people. 

My view from the South Stand for Tottenham vs Brentford. The South Stand is where you would find the “ultra” fans of Tottenham. They will be the loudest fans, singing chants throughout the entire game. 

This was me as I was about to go into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for my third time. I had been for the first time in 2023 for a one-off game and couldn’t wait to visit again when I studied abroad. I’ve been a diehard fan since I was a kid, so I plan on going to all of the rest of the home games until I leave in December. 

You get fans of all different ages making the walk down the high road from Seven Sisters. Many parents who are season ticket holders get their kids, who are as young as even a few years old, season tickets to bond over their love for the team. 

Another thing that is very popular around the stadium, for fans unable to get a ticket, is to come for the pre-match vibes and then head to one of the numerous Tottenham-fan-run pubs that have beer gardens, where they watch the game. 

Football in North London isn’t just a hobby for many of these fans; it truly becomes a lifestyle, and I can happily say that I am part of those people. 

The iconic Tottenham Hotspur Clock that was in front of the Stadium since the original White Hart Lane in 1882. The clock represents the founding of the club and is an iconic part of the stadium. 

Lifelong fans wear their retro jerseys of some of the best players over the years. You see just as many current jerseys as you do jerseys from 10+ years ago, showing how long some supporters have been attending.