Grosseto - by Gavin Ferguson

The birth of a movement

One night in 2014, I had a few friends over and we decided that we were going to choose a randomly selected European football team to support for the rest of our lives. We put 500 lower level football teams from all across Europe into a hat, we drew out 499 teams until we only had one team left. I reached into the hat to grab the final remaining folded up piece of paper, and on it said ‘GROSSETO’. My friends and I all frantically starting scouring the internet for information about this club. We discovered that Grosseto was a 4th tier Italian football team based in Tuscany. Before long, about 10 of us had booked flights to Italy to go and see our new team.

When you were younger, did you use to invite your friends to your house? Did you do silly activities like this?

Our first trip

Prior to our arrival in Grosseto, we had made numerous attempts to contact the club to let them know that a bunch of weirdos from London were on the way, but none of these attempts were successful. We arrived in the town of Grosseto on a Sunday afternoon, a couple of hours before their match was due to kick off. When the small number of local supporters in the stadium saw us, a group of 10 Londoners carrying a Union Jack with ‘LOVE GROSSETO’ written across it, they were absolutely gobsmacked. But before long, the initial shock and bafflement turned into scenes of joy and friendship as we explained to the local fans our story and reason for being there. Both during and after the match, we sang and hugged together and tried to communicate across the language barrier.

The next year, when we went back for our second trip, the local fans were ready for us. The number of my friends travelling from London had now increased to 15. When we arrived in Grosseto this time, we got a hero’s welcome. Hundreds of local people had turned out to greet and cheer us as we stepped off the bus. Together, we marched from the city centre to the stadium. Upon entering the stadium, they played ‘God Save the Queen’ on the tannoy in our honour. This was true love.

 On a subsequent trip, they allowed us onto the pitch at half-time. We took the opportunity to kiss the turf in front of the local fans.

On the 6th trip, we had 38 people travelling from London. This was our highest ever total.

The most recent trip was the 7th trip with 30 people, which took place in March 2024. This was a special trip for me as it was also my stag do. To mark the occasion, I splashed out on an all red tracksuit (Grosseto play in red). My friends said I looked like Stormzy.

Have you ever been to Italy before? Have you ever travelled in a big group before? Would you like to?

Media interest

Due to the peculiar nature of our affinity to Grosseto, we have attracted some attention from the media both in Italy and the UK. We always feel proud when this happens.

Have you ever been in the newspaper before? Would you like to be?

‘FOREIGN BY BIRTH - GROSSETAN BY THE GRACE OF GOD’

Flag

Every time we travel to Grosseto, we design a flag to give as a gift to the local fans. On the most recent trip, we had a 25m flag made, which we displayed at Tower Bridge in London before our trip.

Do you like our flags? Do you like being artistic and creating things?

Responsibility

Every year when we travel to Grosseto, I feel a huge burden of responsibility because I am the person who organises everything. I organise the flights, the accommodation, the flag, the bus to take us to the stadium, the kitty etc. for everyone. Whilst I do feel proud to be the organiser, I can’t say it doesn’t stress me out.

Do you like planning holidays? Have you ever planned something big before?

Future

For many of my friends, the Grosseto weekend is one of the most important dates in the calendar. It’s something we look forward to all year. For that reason, I imagine that we will be travelling to Grosseto every year until the day we die. That being said, as more and more of my friends have children, perhaps the number of us making this annual pilgrimage will begin to dwindle.

Are you optimistic about the future of Grosseto? Do you do anything similar with your friends? Would you like to?

The student must choose 6 of the underlined words/ phrases to study in the lesson.