A Question of Sport

A little observation on how sport can bring people together.

In Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, many of the locals we’ve spoken to follow English football and support a team. After the first question of where are you from, the second question tends to quickly be which team do you support, usually directed at James. They tend to be quite surprised when I’m the one that answers, but quickly continue on the conversation regardless.

I’ve been quite surprised at how few people here support Manchester United, as I thought that was the team that was universally followed across Asia. However, the main team that people follow here is Liverpool. When I’ve asked why, answers range from their success in the Champions League to loving Michael Owen!

Sport has an amazing way of bringing people together, whether it’s talking about football or challenging someone you don’t know to a game of pool as a way of starting a conversation. I’ve always been interested in sport, particularly for this reason. Luckily Liverpool are doing pretty well this season, so most people in South East Asia are happy. Let’s hope it stays that way!