I was hoping to find out a little more about the aspect of traveling supporters in French football (Ligue 1/2, etc.). It seems that it is not as much a part of the footballing culture as it is in Britain, but I wasn't sure that appearance is off base. I know the distances between teams may be more in France than in England, but it appears train travel is quicker there (i.e. Paris to Marseille in as little as three hours while the same distance in Britain likely takes 8+ hours). So ... I was hoping to get some feedback from those who live in France (or have visited often). Also, are visiting fans guaranteed seats at away games (and their own section of the stadium) as is the case in Britain? Thanks.
I think that the LFP commands to every club to let a section of the stadium to the away team. For example it's 2.000 seats in the Parc des Princes or the Vélodrome. The number of traveling fans depends on the club and the distance. For example, EVERY match of Marseille or so will be played sold out, in part because some of Marseille fans come from the home city itself - but most of them really make the trip from Marseille. A contrario, there can be only 3 brave fans coming from Britanny for an Ajaccio-Guingamp in Corsica in Ligue 2.
in gerland there's a section in the corner of jean bouin for visiting supporters that holds about 500 and you'll see anywhere from 10 to 200 supporters there. but for saint etienne, PSG or marseille, and for CL matches, they give over two sections of the virage sud (minus the security perimeter) and those 2000 or so seats will be full. btw, visiting supporters rarely use the TGV, preferring chartered buses for reason of cost. the trips are organized by supporters' clubs but open to all, at cost, generally 40 to 50 euros all included, even a box lunch. if you explain your interest in french supporters' culture here webmaster@bg87.com (even in english probably) i imagine you'll get some feedback: it's the bad gones, and they're the ones who do this sort of thing for OL.
guignol, thanks for the e-mail address. Unfortunately I never received a reply, so I will ask some follow-up questions here ... Do you know if any teams offer an "away season ticket"? I know some English clubs have this available where you essentially pay an estimate of the combined ticket costs for all away games that year. Or is it simply done on a match-by-match basis? Do Ligue 2 (and below) teams oftentimes have a bus setup for those who want to travel to away matches or is that more for the bigger clubs? As for those clubs that do have bus travel, do they usually leave the day of the game then return home that evening. With how big the country is (by European standards) and games oftentimes starting at 9 p.m., I could see the bus pulling back home at sunrise the following morning. Thanks for anybody who may have further insights. I am very interested in the fan culture aspect of French football.
I'm trying to bring you some answers in telling you my experience of PSG fan. To my knowledge, there is no "away season ticket" in France. Generally, bus travel takes place on the day of the game. But sometimes, it happened that the bus leave during the night before the game. For example, it's the case if PSG will play in Monaco. Because of the lenght of the trip, but also in order to arrive early enough to take advantage of the beach . In France, away tickets cost nearly 10€. You can usually buy it at the stadium the day of the game. For PSG fans it's a bit different since one year. We now have to buy our away tickets at the Parc des Princes in presenting an identity card (security measure took by the club). There are two means of travelling for an away game. You can go to the stadium by your own way (car, train, etc.), it's called to travell as an "indépendant". Or you can travelled with the supporters' club. As it was said by Guignol, these trips are organized in bus because it's cheaper. Sometimes, supporter's club try to have a trip in train in order to walk in procession from the station to the stadium, but in this case it's not to visit the city. It remains very rare.
And how does it works in the US ? I know it's a kind difficult to travelling to New York when you're a Sounders' fan, but when Seattle used to play away games in USL against Portland or Vancouver, did many fans moved to support their team ?
Essentially, supporters groups at MLS clubs do plan trips, but only to relatively close places, like within 500 miles or so. For the Sounders, nobody in MLS this year is that close, but nearby Portland and Vancouver will join in 2011. For trips longer than ~500 miles, fans are essentially on their own in regards to getting there. Now, you can - for the most part - ensure that you will sit with other away fans, even if you're traveling 3,000 miles across the country, but there is no organized travel usually. Oh, and definitely no segregation between the fan groups in the stands, although that has been bandied about when we play Portland in 2011 (the biggest rivalry in American soccer). This year, the Sounders played Portland in the U.S. Cup (essentially our version of the Coupe de France) down in Portland and many Sounders fans made the trip. I'm not sure if they had buses, but they did sit (stand) together. "The game was a sellout, with Sounders fans traveling south en masse and trading chants with Portland's equally enthusiastic supporters." http://www.seattlepi.com/soccer/407790_sounders01.html As for the USL days, I never made it out to any Seattle-Portland games, but the two Seattle-Vancouver games I attended saw a significant portion of the crowd made up of Whitecaps fans. I love the idea of traveling everywhere to see the Sounders, but I obviously would need a relatively well-paying (and flexible!) job in order to be able to afford the costs and have the time off from work. But once I figure that out, I am going everywhere!