Believe It Will Happen
Charlie Gamble, England
As England prepares for UEFA EURO 2024, we have teamed up with The FA to tell the stories of the nation's diverse fan base. From Lancashire to London, and Southampton to Sheffield, fans share their footballing story and what supporting England both home and away means to them.
Charlie Gamble lives in Southampton, coaches a grassroots football team, and has become addicted to the buzz of an England matchday.
My name is Charlie and I am 29 years old. I was born and raised in Southampton, where I still live today. I work as a Commercial & Sport Manager for a non-profit organisation called Personal Best Education. This organisation was established in 2012 to support the physical and mental well-being of the local community by providing educational, sports, and leisure services.
As Bill Shankly once said, ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that’. This is precisely the case for me, as I played throughout most of my youth and then turned my attention to coaching. I possess a UEFA B coaching licence and currently coach at Hedge End Rangers FC every Saturday, which is my local grassroots football club in step seven of non-league football.
I also volunteered for many years at numerous grassroots clubs, but always and most importantly, I have remained a massive football supporter!
In addition to supporting England, my club team is Southampton FC, where I was a season ticket holder for many years. I was lucky enough to watch our rise from the bottom of League One to playing in Europe and see us play in stadiums such as the San Siro in Milan.
The Friday Night Football Project
I love the idea of creating an environment where young players can fall in love with the great game as I did when I was younger. Grassroots football gives me a sense of belonging while allowing me to give back to my local community.
Since 2023, I have been involved with The Friday Night Football project. This community project is for young people aged 10-15. It aims to reduce anti-social behaviour through weekly recommended levels of physical activity and mental well-being support with many social rewards for those who play.
Matchday Buzz
I have supported the England national team ever since I can remember. When I was younger, I watched tournaments with my Mum and Dad who are both huge football supporters.
My first memory of the England national team was watching the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. I vividly recall my Year Two school teacher wheeling a box television on a trolley stand into our classroom as we arrived at school so we could watch the Quarter Final Match against Brazil.
I caught the bug for travelling to see England play away after I attended the 2019 Nations League Finals in Porto, where for the first time I experienced the unrivalled atmosphere of what following England away feels like. It is the different songs, flags, people you meet and the camaraderie you build with them that makes supporting England completely unique to anything I have experienced before. The buzz on matchday when England supporters are all together really gets my blood pumping.
Since then, I have travelled to Germany, Malta, Poland, and North Macedonia supporting England. A personal highlight for me was watching England beat Germany 2-0 in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 with my Dad on his birthday!
Showing Up For England
I normally take a 10x5-foot England flag with me on all my England trips, which displays the Three Lions, the Hampshire County crest, the Southampton coat of arms, and my home postcode.
I also have a huge interest and fascination with retro England football shirts. The 80s truly was a great era for them. Two of my favourites that I own personally are the 1982 World Cup away shirt in red and the 1989 third shirt in sky blue!
I will be watching the national team in a range of ways during the 2024 Euros. For the first two group matches, I will be based at home so I am hoping to watch a match with my family and one with friends at a pub in Southampton.
I will then drive out to Germany in my little red Fiesta to watch the final group match and the rest of the tournament, where I will follow England wherever they may play until they hopefully bring the trophy home!
England Legacy
My favourite England player currently is Phil Foden, having followed his England journey from a young age. I watched him play every match in the 2017 U17 World Cup as they beat Spain 5-2 in the Final, with Foden scoring the third and fifth goals as we lifted the trophy! Watching his football journey as he has become a world superstar dominating the English game has been amazing. Just a major tournament win with England to go now…
Although before my time, Sir Bobby Charlton was a player I admired greatly because of what he achieved with and for England, including the 1966 World Cup win. His legacy still lives on to this day. When you look back on his career and what he accomplished with England (scoring nearly 50 times from midfield!), there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest of all time.
Camaraderie And Country
Following England has given me a feeling of community. Everyone is there for the same reason, regardless of where you live in the country and the camaraderie following England is what makes it so special.
I met a Bolton Wanderers supporter at the 2019 Nations League in Portugal and then we bumped into each other again in a bar last year when England were playing in North Macedonia. That is what it is all about and, for me, cheering on England is the greatest hobby in the world.
Watching England win a major tournament would be the absolute pinnacle of being a football supporter. When or if that happens, I do not know but the belief it will happen at some stage never goes away.
That little bit of hope is an addiction you cannot get rid of and provides adrenaline like nothing else. The team we have built in recent years makes the feeling even more intense because the prospect of watching England lift a major trophy is even more possible now!
The trip to the Nations League Finals in 2019 first fuelled my interest in joining the ESTC because of what I knew following England could be like. I then joined the ESTC straight after Euro 2020, as I wanted to be a part of that tournament watching England play in person but missed out on tickets.
That tournament provided a buzz for the whole country as a home tournament, so I told myself that the next time England plays in a major tournament, I will be there, wherever that is. And now I will be!
