Football pubs are public houses that open all week, but on matchdays, they become supporters clubs. Places where fans feel they belong, where they can walk in alone and instantly have company.
Every club has at least one pub which supporters call ‘theirs’.
You will often find memorabilia and other paraphernalia on the walls and ceilings, although the style tends to be more minimalist in posher areas, so as not to scare off the wealthy diners who come in for an evening meal.
They are often places where it would be unwise for an away supporter to visit, but again, it depends on the area. Some feel like fortresses and sell nothing but beer and snacks, others are friendlier and serve food to families when the football isn’t on.
Football and pubs have always been linked, ever since the organised sport began. In fact, many clubs were founded in pubs more than 100 years ago, and some of them still welcome supporters of their clubs today.
I will list them all here, and explore the relationship between football and pubs more broadly.
The Link Between Boozers and Football
We’ve all heard of pub football teams, and any pub worth its salt will show the football at the weekend. But if we go back to the early days of the sport, pubs were even more important.
Sheffield Wednesday, one of the oldest football clubs in the land, weas formed after a meeting at the Adelphi Hotel in 1867. Back in 1905, Chelsea Football Club was formed at a pub called The butcher’s Hook on Fulham Road. Grimsby Town were founded at the Wellington Arms on Freeman Street in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham.
You can go up and down every tier of professional football in England and find a similar story.
The pub has always been a place to congregate, to discuss local and national matters, to plan, and to create. So when football grew in popularity, a sensible place for people to meet before a game was the nearest pub. Equally, the best place to go to talk about the game afterwards was a pub. Heck, even the players would go in for a pint with the fans in the early days.
Publicans recognise the value in his so they turn their venues into football pubs. Supporters create a tradition. Huge moments and important memories are enjoyed within those walls. Give that a few generations to settle and the supporter’s pub is well and truly established.
Then television came along and pubs were able to screen matches in the venue itself. Imagine when that first came in. We take it for granted now, but imagine the very first time your pub televised the game. Magic.
Throughout history, the relationship between football and pubs is one of co-dependency. Especially in the lower leagues.
For some public houses, the trade brought by matchday is all that keeps them open. For the clubs themselves, pubs provide a base for their most loyal supporters, a place where they can come together and feel part of something, which is ultimately what keeps them coming back season after season.
Football clubs would be nothing without their supporters, just ask MK Dons (I’m kidding), and pubs provide a great way for supporters to congregate and watch the game if they can’t watch it in person.
Clubs recognise this and may donate memorabilia for the club to display. Some breweries have even teamed up with clubs to create their own branded craft beers, which are then sold in local pubs. This isn’t widespread, but it happens, and is another example of how the pub and the club continue to work side by side.
Where Fans Drink For Every Team
I tell you what, I feel like I have a hangover just from researching all of these football pubs!
Some clubs will have more than one pub listed because there are a number of venues their supporters use. You might be a local and feel I have missed an important pub off the list – let me know if so.
Some are so busy you can only get in before the game if you show a match ticket in the home sections. Others are far more casual, and although they may get busy, anyone is welcome.
It depends on the football culture in the area. Some clubs have fan communities that are almost like gangs, others are much more friendly. Unsurprisingly, the former are more likely to have their ‘own’ pubs.
Whichever category each club is in, these are the most famous football pubs for each team in the league system.
Premier League
| Club | Supporter’s Pub |
|---|---|
| Arsenal FC | The Gunners, The Tollington Arms |
| Aston Villa FC | Witton Arms, The Vine Inn |
| AFC Bournemouth | Queens Park Hotel |
| Brentford FC | The Globe, The Griffin |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | The Grand Central |
| Chelsea FC | The Butcher’s Hook, The Chelsea Gate |
| Crystal Palace | The Cherry Tree |
| Everton FC | The Winslow Hotel |
| Fulham FC | The Golden Lion |
| Ipswich Town | The Greyhound |
| Leicester City | The F Bar |
| Liverpool FC | The Sandon, The Albert |
| Manchester City | Mary D’s, The Townley |
| Manchester United | The Trafford, The White Lion, The Bishop Blaize |
| Newcastle United | The Strawberry |
| Nottingham Forest | The Boat Club |
| Southampton FC | The Saints Pub |
| Tottenham Hotspur | The Bricklayers, No.8 Tottenham |
| West Ham United | The Boleyn Tavern, The Carpenter’s Arms |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | The Clarendon |
EFL Championship
| Club | Supporter’s Pub |
|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | The Brown Cow |
| Bristol City | The Robins |
| Burnley FC | The Royal Dyche |
| Cardiff City | The Admiral Napier |
| Coventry City | The Cherry Tree, Sky Blue Tavern |
| Derby County | The Neptune |
| Hull City | The New Griffin |
| Leeds United | The Old White Hart |
| Luton Town | The Bricklayers Arms |
| Middlesbrough FC | The Navigation, Legends Bar |
| Millwall FC | The Blue Anchor |
| Norwich City | Coach and Horses |
| Oxford United | George Inn, The Blackbird |
| Plymouth Argyle | The Brittannia |
| Portsmouth FC | The Shepherd’s Crook |
| Preston North End | The Royal Consort |
| Queens Park Rangers | The Queens Tavern |
| Sheffield United | The Railway Hotel |
| Sheffield Wednesday | The Old Crown |
| Stoke City | The Locomotive Inn |
| Sunderland FC | The Colliery Tavern |
| Swansea City | The Railway Inn |
| Watford FC | The Red Lion |
| West Bromwich Albion | The Vine |
EFL League 1
| Club | Supporter’s Pub |
|---|---|
| Barnsley FC | The Mount |
| Birmingham City | The Roost |
| Blackpool FC | The Armfield Pub, The Excelsior |
| Bolton Wanderers | The Beehive |
| Bristol Rovers | The Sportsman |
| Burton Albion | The Albion |
| Cambridge United | The Green Dragon |
| Charlton Athletic | The Royal Oak |
| Crawley Town | The Half Moon |
| Exeter City | St Anne’s Well |
| Huddersfield Town | The Vulcan |
| Leyton Orient | The Coach and Horses |
| Lincoln City | The Shakespeare, The Golden Eagle |
| Mansfield Town | The Sandy Pate, The Talbot |
| Northampton Town | The Sevens |
| Peterborough United | Coalheavers Arms |
| Reading FC | The Victoria Cross |
| Rotherham United | New York Tavern, Cutlers Arms |
| Shrewsbury Town | The Prince of Wales |
| Stevenage FC | The Mutual Friend |
| Stockport County | The Prince Albert, The Royal Oak |
| Wigan Athletic | Wigan Athletic Supporters Club, Douglas Bank |
| Wrexham FC | The Turf |
| Wycombe Wanderers | The Hour Glass |
EFL League 2
| Club Name | Supporter’s Pub |
|---|---|
| AFC Wimbledon | The Corner Pin |
| Barrow AFC | The Newton Arms |
| Bradford City | The Bradford Arms |
| Bromley FC | The Social Club, The Chatterton Arms |
| Chesterfield FC | The Glassworks |
| Cheltenham Town | The Robins Bar, The Airs and Graces |
| Colchester United | The Dog and Pheasant |
| Crawley Town | Redz Bar |
| Crewe Alexandra | The British Lion |
| Doncaster Rovers | The Leopard |
| Fleetwood Town | The Kings Arms |
| Forest Green Rovers | The Green Man |
| Gillingham FC | The Cricketers |
| Grimsby Town | The Blundell Park Hotel |
| Harrogate Town AFC | The Empress |
| MK Dons | The Red Dot Bar |
| Morecambe FC | The York, Hurley Flyer |
| Newport County AFC | Riverside Sports Bar |
| Notts County | The Broken Wheelbarrow |
| Port Vale | Ye Olde Crown |
| Salford City | The 92 Bar, Buck’s Bar |
| Sutton United | Amber’s Bar |
| Swindon Town | The County Ground Hotel |
| Tranmere Rovers | Prenton Park |
| Walsall FC | The Kings Arms |