06/05/2026
In April I took a bit of a gap month away from the daily grind to spend some time walking over 430km on my second Camino through Portugal and Spain with my great mate Grant. Whilst it was a personal challenge, it also doubled as an opportunity to help raise funds for dementia research for the Queensland Brain Institute.
Of course, from an “Off The Bench” football perspective, there was absolutely no way I was missing the opportunity to take in a couple of matches along the way!
I’ve been fortunate enough to attend Premier League matches before, along with a couple of games in Italy, so getting a taste of Portuguese football was another exciting prospect.
The first match was Sporting CP v Santa Clara in front of a completely packed stadium, with Sporting winning 4-2 in a cracking atmosphere.
The second was FC Porto v Nottingham Forest in a Europa Cup quarter-final which finished 1-1 and was another outstanding football experience.
One thing I noticed immediately was that both stadiums were absolutely full — and speaking with locals and other fans, that simply seemed to be the norm rather than something unusual or reserved for major occasions.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the ticket pricing. Even needing to purchase through a reseller, my quarter-final ticket positioned around 13 rows back in an excellent seat only cost 80€, which works out to roughly around AUD$130-140. Considering the occasion, atmosphere and quality of the experience, I thought that represented outstanding value.
Now whilst the football itself was quality, what interested me most were some of the observations around the overall matchday experience when comparing it to not just Australian and New Zealand football, but really all codes in general back home.
Firstly, football in Portugal felt like a true family affair. Grandparents, kids, teenagers, mums and dads — everyone attended together and there was a real sense of community around the grounds.
One thing that really stood out was the non-sale of full-strength alcohol inside the stadiums. Instead, there were plenty of quality food outlets along with zero beers available, which was actually great. I could still enjoy a couple of tasty beers while watching the football and lots of people were taking that option.
Fans could still have a few drinks across the road before heading in if they wanted, but once inside the venue the focus shifted completely to the football, atmosphere and shared experience. As a result, you simply didn’t see the drunken antics, abuse or aggression that can unfortunately creep into many stadium sporting environments across Australia and New Zealand at times.
The passion though? Still absolutely next level. Singing, chanting, scarves in the air and genuine emotion — but it all felt controlled and respectful. Almost everyone seemed to be wearing club merchandise which added to the colour and identity of the occasion.
It reinforced to me that sport at its best is about community, family and creating environments where people of all ages feel comfortable attending together. There are definitely elements of the European matchday experience that many sporting codes and venues back home and in NZ could continue to learn from moving forward.
