Leeds United are one of the great clubs of English football, with a proud 100-year history. In that time, they have been English Champions three times, most famously under the leadership of the great Don Revie. It was that team of the 1960s and 70s which brought in new admirers and fans, not just from across the UK but also from around the world. Whilst Manchester United, Barcelona and PSG shirts may now dominate international sales you can always expect to see a Leeds United shirt on your travels, even with 16 years out of the topflight. Moreover, many sport betting companies also think that Leeds has an international following, which is why they open a way for people to bet on them.
Social media platforms like Twitter also show that the club has a large number of fans all over the world. For example, the official Leeds United Twitter account has over 1 million followers, with followers residing in countries like the United States, Thailand, and Indonesia. From their other social media platforms, we can also see that the club has a significant international following. Overall, Leeds United have a significant number of international fans, lets take a look at some of the areas they have the biggest following.
Australia
Australia has long been a home to many Leeds United fans, some ex-pats and some Australian born, attracted to the club by the likes of Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka. Supporters club branches in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland hold meets ups in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane every match day to cheer on their team. Leeds United headed down under for pre-season back in 2019 with games against Manchester United and Western Sydney Wanderers. Over 3,000 fans turned out in Perth to watch Leeds United take part in an open training session, what incredible support thousands of miles away.
Scandinavia
Perhaps one of the most famous and loyal groups of international Leeds United fans are those from Scandinavia. Watching English football on the telly from the late 1960s, the great Revie side is what initially drew in the large following of Scandinavian fans and the stronghold that was built up then is still very much going. It’s become a family affair with the children of that original generation now supporting The Whites. Many fans loyally make the journey over to Leeds every weekend to watch Leeds United. Peter Lorimer’s Commercial Hotel was a famous pilgrimage and pre-match watering hold for hordes of Scandinavian fans.
North America
North America maybe saturated with their own sports; American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Ice Hockey but there is still room for Soccer with Leeds United supporters branches all over the USA and Canada. About 75 per cent fans in the US were born and raised in and around Yorkshire but the number of US-born fans began to increase in the late-1990s when televised Premier League matches took off Stateside (coinciding with O’Leary’s time in charge) and was helped greatly when Leeds signed first Eddie Lewis and more recently Mike Grella.
Some older supporters even hark back to seeing the 1970 FA Cup final on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and falling in love with Leeds through a combination of witnessing Eddie Gray’s artistry and the sense of injustice that so often accompanied our exploits in that era. But with more and more Premier League games broadcast or streamed live thanks to NBC’s rights deal worth over $2 Billion there is a new North American audience being attracted by Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
South America
Not a traditional heartland for overseas Leeds United fans, a new South American audience were attracted to the club thanks to Marcelo Bielsa. With ESPN broadcasting Leeds United’s Championship promotion season, fans across Argentina were drawn to Leeds United and many have stayed with the club since their promotion back to the Premier League. Leeds United have even launched a specific Spanish Twitter account just to cater for the new influx of Spanish speaking fans in South America. Raphinha’s break through into the Brazil national side has also brought a new Brazilian audience to Leeds United.