Skip to main content
Don’t Forget the Motor City
Detroit FC Fans [Creative Commons/BPesqueira]

SINCE David Bowie sung about Panic in Detroit in 1973 I have been fascinated by Detroit.

I have also been fascinated by the international spread of British football culture since being asked to teach a bunch of Penarol fans in Montevideo in 1989 how to properly sing: “You’re going to get your fucking heads in!” I’m a Nacional man but thought it best to keep that quiet. 

So when I read about Detroit City’s Northern Guard supporters group gathering before a match outside the stadium’s gates chanting: “Can you hear the (opponents) sing? No! … I can’t hear hear a fucking thing, no, no-oo,” a classic 1970s Brit football chant, I thought I had to find out more about this club. Then I found out about the anti-fascist credentials of the fans and the ideals of the owners and was sold. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Smoke from flares thrown by fans fills the field before the soccer derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was called off Sunday after pregame disturbances led police to deem it unsafe to proceed at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025
Features / 22 October 2025
22 October 2025

The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE

FC
Books / 10 July 2025
10 July 2025

STEVEN ANDREW welcomes a fine introduction to FC United of Manchester, the team set up in opposition to Manchester United