A travelling group of Italian football fans who explore UK football grounds have described Southport Football club as the pinnacle of their experience.
The Il Calcio Inglese fans, with tens of thousands of fans on social media, said it was “difficult to put into words” just how much they enjoyed their trip to Haig Avenue on Saturday.
While Yellows fans were left disappointed by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Oxford, it was dolce vita for the travelling Italians, who were special guests of SFC fan, sponsor and local restaurateur Onofrio Maimone.
A spokesperson for Il Calcio Inglese said: “ We’ve been traveling around England for countless years, but putting into words what we experienced yesterday in Southport will prove difficult.
“We write to the club a few days earlier to announce our visit, explaining that we’d love to share stories, anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the club.
“Shortly after our message, Onofrio writes back to us—a Sicilian restaurateur transplanted to Southport for 20 years, owner of Volare, an Italian restaurant in the city center, and above all, a sponsor of the club. Through his business, he’s the one who provides the club’s food in the hospitality area on matchday.
“Onofrio sets up a meeting at the restaurant to personally drive us to the stadium. Welcoming us are one of the owners and the president, who give us a tour of the stadium, show us around, explain every detail, and even introduce us to some of the players. Onofrio also has us sit at his table for lunch, together with his family.
“At kickoff, we’re in the stands, among the fans. Huge crowds, but especially tons of young people (mixed in with families and seniors). That’s no small thing, considering it would be even easier around here to follow one of the big clubs.
“At halftime, Kieran, one of the owners, comes over to us: “Come to the shop, take whatever you want.
”The overall atmosphere is relaxed—a group of at least 200 young kids with drums and flags takes over the Terrace behind the goal. The main stand even has padded seats reserved for sponsors.
“At the end of the match, it’s third half in the fan zone, then back to the hospitality area to thank and say goodbye to everyone, before Onofrio drives us to the station, taking us along the promenade.
“This level of hospitality and kindness we’d never experienced before. Even after visiting hundreds of setups like this, something different always strikes us. And that’s perhaps one of the reasons this passion was born.
“We’ll save the details and anecdotes for the video we’ll make about yesterday’s day, but we couldn’t help sharing the experience first after the treatment we received. @southport_fc, as of today, definitely has a few more fans.”