World Cup 2022
This is an exciting time for our family…can you guess why? Well, the World Cup is starting this weekend! And Denmark have qualified and will be playing. So, we thought it was relevant to write a blog post telling you all about football culture in Denmark. Football is a huge passion in our family and we are always excited to watch Denmark play in major tournaments! Of course, “football in Denmark” is a very broad topic, so we will only focus on the national team in this post. The main Danish league, Superligaen, has plenty of interesting rivalries and stories to discuss, but that is for another day.
If you are interested in tuning in to any of Denmark’s games in the next few weeks, here is their schedule.
- Match 1: Denmark vs. Tunisia – Tuesday November 22 at 8am (ET)
- Match 2: Denmark vs. Australia – Wednesday November 30 at 10am (ET)
- Match 3: Denmark vs. France – Saturday November 26 at 11am (ET).
And if they make it out of the group stage, which they hopefully will, they will play at least one more match after these three!
Always the Underdog
As a tiny country without many people, our sports teams are rarely the best in the world. However, we generally do quite well at international competitions like the Olympics, for being such a small country. We do particularly well in certain sports, like handball, cycling, sailing, and rowing. But whenever we are up against huge sports nations, we always feel like the underdog. This is a pretty classic attitude towards Danish sports teams, as it makes losses feel less disappointing and wins feel even more exciting!
Football, or fodbold, or soccer (as it is known in America), is undoubtedly the most popular sport in Denmark. Most kids grow up playing it and many continue playing into their teenage and adult years, whether professionally, semi-professionally, or for fun at a local park. Men’s football has been hugely popular for decades, and women’s football has blown up significantly since the Danish national team made the Euros final in 2017. Needless to say, football is an essential part of daily life and is discussed in pretty much all settings, whether it’s school, work, or just with friends.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Summer of 1992
The most famous moment in Danish men’s football history came in 1992, when we won the European Championships in Sweden. It is actually a great story, because Denmark did not even qualify and barely had any time to prepare. Yugoslavia had qualified above Denmark, but because of the war, they were not permitted to participate in the tournament. Denmark were only told shortly before the tournament started that they would be playing in it. And a draw against England followed by a loss to Sweden meant that confidence was not high in the first few games of the tournament; however, they turned it around with a win over France, then a win over the Netherlands in the semifinal. The final was played against Germany and Denmark won 2-0. This was a true Cinderella story, as a team that did not even qualify for the tournament somehow managed to win!
Football Traditions
Now, let me tell you about a few fun traditions/unique quirks of Danish football. The first is our love of red and white, as these are the colors of the Danish flag and the national football team. One of the most sung football songs actually goes: Vi er røde, vi er hvide, vi står sammen, side om side. This translates to: We are red, we are white, we stand together, side by side. Everyone wears red and white (usually football shirts) if they are going to see a national team match or even just watching it on television.
Another fun tradition is a klaphat, or ‘clap hat’. These were popularized during tournaments in the 1980s, and they are hats with little hands in the front. You can pull a string which makes the hands clap, hence the name. Even though they are a few years old now, you can still see some people wearing these retro hats if you go to a match. However, be careful, because klaphat is also an insult in Danish, meaning idiot or fool. So make sure to use it in the right context or you could accidentally insult someone!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading this fun little blog post about football culture in Denmark – we hope you learned something new! Obviously, the circumstances of this year’s World Cup in Qatar are far from ideal, and it certainly will not create the same magic that it usually does. But nonetheless, we are excited to watch Denmark’s games – hopefully more than 3! – and looking forward to the month ahead. Leave a comment down below if you have a question or something you would like to add 🙂
